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REV.    LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 

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GOSPEL  SI 

AND  THEIR  SONGS 


F.    D.    HEMENWAY,    D.D. 

AND 

CHAS.    M.   STUART,  B.D. 


NEW  YORK:  HUNT  &  EA  TON 

CINCINNA  TI:  CRANSTON  &  STOWE 

i8qi 


Copyright,  1891,  by 

HUNT    &    EATON, 

New  York. 


Theology  and  music  unite  and  move  on,  hand  in  hand, 
through  time,  and  will  continue  eternally  to  illustrate,  embel- 
lish and  enforce,  impress,  and  fix  in  the  attentive  mind  the 
grand  and  important  truths  of  Christianity. — Andrew  Law. 


It  came  even  to  pass,  as  the  trumpeters  and  singers  were 
as  one,  to  make  one  sound  to  be  heard  in  praising  and  thank- 
ing the  Lord  ;  and  when  they  lifted  up  their  voice  with  the 
trumpets  and  cymbals  and  instruments  of  music,  and  praised 
the  Lord,  saying,  For  he  is  good  ;  for  his  mercy  endureth 
forever :  that  then  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud,  even 
the  house  of  the  Lord. — 2  Chron.  v,  13. 


NOTE. 


THE  substance  of  this  volume  appeared  in 
more  extended  form  in  the  "  Life  and 
Select  Writings  "  of  the  late  Professor  Hem- 
envvay,  of  Garrett  Biblical  Institute.  The 
abridgment  was  supervised  by  Rev.  Charles 
M.  Stuart,  who  edited  the  original  work  and 
who  is  also  responsible  for  the  added  chapters 
on  the  hymns  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth 
centuries.  For  the  matter  contained  in  these 
additional  chapters  free  use  was  made  of  Nut- 
ter's Hymn  Studies,  Tillett's  Annotated  Hymn- 
Book  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
Duffield's  English  Hymns,  Hatfield's  The  Poets 
of  the  Church,  and  "  Hymn  Notes,"  contrib- 
uted by  Professor  F.  M.  Bird  to  The  Independ- 
ent, for  which  acknowledgments  are  here  made. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Singer  and  the  Song 9 

CHAPTER  II. 
Hymns  of  the  Ancient  Church 25 

CHAPTER  III. 
Earlier  Mediaeval  Hymns 42 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Later  Mediaeval  Hymns 56 

CHAPTER  V. 
Hymns  from  German  Authors 74 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Earlier  English  Hymns , . .     93 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Watts  and  Wesley : 104 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Hymns  of  the  Eighteenth  Century 125 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Hymns  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 148 

Notes 187 


GOSPEL  SINGERS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    SINGER   AND    THE    SONG. 

AS  we  turn  our  attention  to  lyric  poetry  in 
general,  the  first  thing  which  impresses 
us  is  its  antiquity.  The  oldest  human  litera- 
ture has  come  to  us  in  this  form.  The  most 
ancient  books  of  the  Hindus,  and,  as  many 
think,  the  most  ancient  of  all  human  books, 
are  the  famous  Vedic  hymns,  which,  by  the 
most  moderate  calculation,  are  nearly  three 
thousand  years  old.  The  entire  number 
of  these  is  one  thousand  and  twenty-eight  ; 
and  as  early  as  600  B.  C.  their  verses,  words, 
and  syllables  had  been  carefully  enumer- 
ated. The  oldest  of  the  Chinese  sacred  books 
is  the  third  of  the  ante-Confucian  classics 
— called  by  them  the  Book  of  Odes — frag- 
ments of  which  are  seen  scattered  over  tea- 
chests    and    other  articles    of  Chinese    manu- 


IO  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

facture.  As  to  the  relative  antiquity  of  the 
Vedas  in  Hindu  literature  and  the  Book  of 
Odes  in  Chinese  literature  there  is  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine with  certainty,  or  even  a  high  degree  of 
probability,  the  absolute  age  of  either.  The 
general  estimate  of  those  most  competent  to 
form  an  opinion  on  the  subject  is  that  both 
may  date  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hun- 
dred years  before  Christ  ;  thus,  in  the  matter 
of  age,  ranking  with  the  Davidic  psalms. 

Coming  to  Christian  lyric  poetry,  we  are  at 
once  struck  with  its  vast  extent  and  incom- 
parable wealth.  It  is  estimated  that  in  the 
German  language  alone  there  are  eighty  thou- 
sand Christian  hymns,1  and  in  the  English 
forty  thousand.  Even  as  early  as  175 1,  says 
Kurtz,  in  his  Church  History,  J.  Jacob  V. 
Moser  collected  a  list  of  fifty  thousand  printed 
hymns  in  the  German  language. 

Not  only  is  the  gross  amount  so  consider- 
able, its  diffusion  is  still  more  to  be  noted. 
Next  to  the  Christian  sacred  books,  nothing 
in  literature  has  been  so  multiplied  as  copies 
of  Christian  hymns.     Copies  of  some  of  these 


THE   SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  II 

may  be  counted  literally  by  the  million.  They 
rival  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments in  their  hold  on  human  memories. 
There  are  not  a  few  into  whose  memories 
verses  of  hymns  came  earlier  than  verses  of 
Scripture,  and  they  will  be  more  likely  to 
speak  them  with  their  dying  breath. 

A  hymn  is  the  most  subtle  and  spiritual 
thing  which  a  man  can  create.  It  must  be  in 
fact,  if  not  in  form,  a  transcript  of  his  high- 
est and  holiest  experiences ;  for  the  distin- 
guishing characteristic  of  lyric  poetry  is  the 
stamp  it  bears  of  the  personal  consciousness. 
The  most  perfect  expressions  of  the  Christian 
creed  and  life  are  found  in  the  hymns  of  the 
Church.  As  influences  for  good  they  are  at 
once  subtle  and  powerful,  swaying  our  natures 
as  nothing  else  can.  "  What  care  I,"  says 
Falstaff,  "  for  the  bulk  and  big  assemblage  of 
a  man  ?  Give  me  the  spirit,  Master  Shallow, 
give  me  the  spirit."  Now,  the  spirit  of  hu- 
manity and  of  the  Christian  Church,  in  a  sense 
infinitely  higher  than  Shakespeare's  hero  could 
understand,  is  found  in  lyric  poetry  as  no- 
where else.     The  subtle  essence,  the  delicate 


12  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

hues,  the  delicious  fragrance,  and  ethereal  beau- 
ty of  spiritual  character  are  here  most  vari- 
ously and  beautifully  exhibited. 

Bishop  Wordsworth,  in  the  somewhat  elab- 
orate essay  on  Christian  hymns  prefixed  to  his 
Holy  Year,  complains  that  while  the  ancient 
hymns  are  distinguished  by  self-forget  fulness, 
the  modern  are  characterized  by  self-conscious- 
ness. As  illustrative  examples  he  cites  the 
following:  "  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear," 
"  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross,"  "  I  hold 
the  sacred  book  of  God,"  "  My  God,  the  spring 
of  all  my  joys ;  "  and  he  also  quotes,  as  illus- 
trating not  only  this  egotistical  character,  but 
also  a  certain  reprehensible  self-assurance, 
and  a  familiar  and  even  amatory  style  of  ad- 
dress, 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly," 

which  he  says  he  has  heard  "  given  out  to  be 
sung  by  every  member  of  a  large,  mixed  con- 
gregation, in  a  dissolute  part  of  a  populous 
and  irreligious  city." 

Seldom  were  words  ever  written  which  be- 
tray a  more  absolute  want  of  comprehension 


THE  SINGER  AND  THE  SONG.      1 3 

of  the  whole  subject  of  lyric  poetry.  Its  one 
grand,  distinguishing  characteristic  is  the  fact 
that  we  see  here,  as  nowhere  else,  the  glory  of 
individual  life  and  experience.  It  must  be 
confessed  that  there  are  hymns  which  illustrate 
some  of  the  objectionable  tendencies  pointed 
out  by  the  distinguished  prelate  ;  but  certainly 
the  hymns  he  specifies  show  very  clearly  how 
a  hymn  can  be  a  genuine  lyric,  reflecting  most 
clearly  and  vividly  the  individual  conscious- 
ness and  yet  be  thoroughly  free  from  obtrusive 
egotism.  The  most  perfect  and  most  univer- 
sally intelligible  model  of  religious  poetry  holds 
such  language  as  the  following:  "  The  Lord  is 
my  shepherd  ;  /  shall  not  want.  He  maketh 
me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures :  he  leadeth 
me  beside  the  still  waters."  Wiser  was  Lu- 
ther, who  used  to  thank  God  for  these  same 
little  words — these  words  of  personal  confes- 
sion and  appropriation.  It  is  comparatively 
unimportant  whether  the  hymn  stand  in  the 
singular  or  plural  number;  the  one  thing 
essential  is  that  it  be  a  crystallization  of  per- 
sonal thought  and  experience.  The  great 
hymns  of  the  Church — the  hymns  of  the  ages 


14  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

— hymns  which  stand  pre-eminent  as  expres- 
sions of  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man — 
are  almost  uniformly  such  as  come  most  di- 
rectly out  of  the  experience  of  the  writer. 
Charles  Wesley's  hymns  are  eminently  autobi- 
ographic. That  grand  hymn  which  has  so  long 
held  the  place  of  honor  in  both  English  and 
American  Methodist  hymn-books,  "  O  for  a 
thousand  tongues  to  sing,"  was  written  on 
the  first  anniversary  of  Mr,  Wesley's  spiritual 
birth.  Equally  evident  is  it  that  his  holiest 
aspirations  and  his  most  blissful  experiences 
are  given  voice  in  such  hymns  as  "  O  love 
divine,  how  sweet  thou  art ;  "  "  Love  divine, 
all  loves  excelling  ;  "  "  Vain,  delusive  world, 
adieu. "  Two  of  his  hymns,  very  familiar  to 
Methodists,  were  addressed  to  his  wife  on  her 
birthday  : 

"  Come  away  to  the  skies,  my  beloved,  arise, 
And  rejoice  in  the  day  thou  wast  born." 

"  Come,  let  us  ascend,  my  companion  and  friend, 
To  a  taste  of  the  banquet  above."  2 

The  connection  of  the  hymn  "  God  moves 
in  a  mysterious  way  "  with  Cowper's  personal 
history  is  well  known.3     John  Newton's  most 


THE   SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  1 5 

characteristic,  though  by  no  means  most 
famous  or  most  beautiful,  hymn  is  a  mere  tran- 
script of  his  spiritual  autobiography :  "  I  saw 
one  hanging  on  the  tree."4  The  hymn  of  Anne 
Steele  which  is  most  universally  known  and 
most  frequently  used,  "  Father,  whate'er  of 
earthly  bliss, "  is  beyond  question  the  simple 
outbreathing  of  her  personal  trust  and  submis- 
sion beneath  the  heavy  burdens  of  sorrow 
which  she,  more  than  others,  was  called  to 
bear.5  Charlotte  Elliott's  "  Just  as  I  am  "  is 
the  expression  of  the  experience  into  which 
she  herself  had  come  after  long  and  painful 
preparation.  John  Keble's  most  frequently 
used  hymn,  "  Sun  of  my  soul,"  exhibits  the  very 
characteristic  which  is  so  offensive  to  Bishop 
Wordsworth.6  And,  as  we  look  through  the 
whole  range  of  hymnology,  and  consider  the 
hymns  which  all  agree  to  understand,  to  love, 
and  to  use,  we  shall  find  the  great  majority  of 
them  to  be  couched  in  the  language  of  per- 
sonal confession  and  appropriation,  such  as 
shows  them  to  be  the  outpouring  of  the  most 
sacred  and  most  spiritual  experiences. 

As  a  means  of  Christian  influence  hymns  are 


l6  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

most  serviceable,  and  sometimes  well-nigh  ir- 
resistible. The  pure  waters  of  holy  song  will 
sometimes  make  their  way  into  places  dark 
and  deathful,  which  no  other  influence  from 
heaven  can  reach.  A  few  years  since  a  little 
party  of  American  travelers,  happening  to  be 
in  Montreal,  took  occasion  to  visit  the  cele- 
brated Grey  Nunnery,  one  of  the  wealthiest 
religious  houses  on  this  continent.  As  we 
were  being  conducted  through  the  establish- 
ment we  came  to  the  school-room  containing 
the  orphan  children,  kept  there  as  one  branch 
of  their  charities.  For  our  entertainment  the 
children  were  set  to  singing.  What  was  our 
surprise  and  delight  to  hear  them  sing  our 
common  Protestant  Sunday-school  hymns, 
such  as  "  I  have  a  Father  in  the  promised 
land/'  "  I  want  to  be  an  angel,"  "  There  is  a 
happy  land ! M  What  other  form  of  evan- 
gelical influence  could  have  made  its  way  so 
successfully  through  the  bolts  and  bars  of  that 
convent? 

There  is  a  familiar  incident  connected  with 
one  of  Phoebe  Cary's  hymns  which  may  well 
be  taken  as  representative  of  a  very  large  class 


THE    SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  IJ 

of  similar  instances  showing  the  power  of  sa- 
cred song.  A  few  years  since  two  men,  Amer- 
icans— one  middle-aged,  the  other  a  young 
man — met  in  a  gambling-house  in  Canton, 
China.  They  had  been  engaged  in  play  to- 
gether during  the  evening,  and  the  young  man 
had  lost  heavily.  While  the  older  one  was 
shuffling  the  cards  for  a  new  deal,  his  com- 
panion leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  began 
mechanically  to  sing  a  fragment  of  Miss 
Cary's  exquisite  hymn,  "  One  sweetly  solemn 
thought."  As  these  words,  so  tender  and  so 
beautiful,  fell  on  the  ear  of  the  man  hardened 
in  sin,  dead  memories  in  his  heart  came  to  life 
again.  He  sprang  up  excitedly,  exclaiming : 
"Where  did  you  learn  that  hymn?  I  can't 
stay  here!  "  And,  in  spite  of  the  taunts  of 
his  companion,  he  hurried  him  away,  and  con- 
fessed to  him  the  story  of  his  long  wanderings 
from  a  happy  Christian  home.  At  the  same 
time  he  expressed  his  determination  to  lead  a 
better  life,  and  urged  his  companion  in  sin  to 
join  him.  The  resolution  was  kept,  the  man 
was  reclaimed,  and  the  story  of  his  recovery 

came  back  to  bless  Miss  Cary  before  she  died. 
2 


1 8  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

This  hymn,  God's  invisible  angel,  had  gone 
with  the  man  through  all  those  weary  years 
of  sin,  and  finally  led  him  back  to  purity  and 
salvation. 

An  oft-repeated  incident  connected  with 
one  of  the  best  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  well 
illustrates  the  power  of  this  means  of  influ- 
ence. The  only  daughter  of  a  wealthy  and 
worldly  nobleman  was  awakened  and  con- 
verted at  a  Methodist  meeting  in  London. 
This  was  to  her  father  an  occasion  of  bitter 
grief  and  disappointment,  and  he  at  once  set 
about  winning  her  back  to  her  former  associa- 
tions. Having  vainly  tried  other  means  to 
draw  her  away  from  her  newly  found  faith,  he 
at  last  formed  a  plan  the  object  of  which  was 
to  bring  to  bear  upon  her  the  combined  influ- 
ence of  her  former  most  intimate  associates 
and  friends,  and  that,  too,  under  such  condi- 
tions that  she  would  be  unable  to  resist  it. 
He  arranged  to  invite  to  his  own  home  a 
number  of  her  gay  and  worldly  associates,  hop- 
ing by  their  influence  to  entangle  her  again 
in  the  meshes  of  fashionable  dissipation.  The 
company    assembled,   and    all    in   high  spirits 


THE    SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  1 9 

entered  upon  the  pleasures  of  the  evening. 
According  to  the  plan  preconcerted,  several 
of  the  party  took  their  turn  in  singing  a  song, 
of  course  selecting  such  as  comported  with  the 
gayety  and  worldliness  of  the  occasion.  Then 
the  young  lady  herself,  being  an  accomplished 
musician,  was  called  upon.  She  distinctly 
saw  that  the  critical  hour  had  come.  Pale, 
but  composed,  she  took  her  seat  at  the  piano, 
and,  after  running  her  fingers  over  the  keys, 
sang  these  verses  of  Charles  Wesley's  incom- 
parable hymn  : 

"  No  room  for  mirth  or  trifling  here, 
For  worldly  hope,  or  worldly  fear, 

If  life  so  soon  is  gone ; 
If  now  the  Judge  is  at  the  door, 
And  all  mankind  must  stand  before 

The  inexorable  throne ! 

"  No  matter  which  my  thoughts  employ 
A  moment's  misery  or  joy ; 

But  O  !  when  both  shall  end, 
Where  shall  I  find  my  destined  place? 
Shall  I  my  everlasting  days 

With  fiends  or  angels  spend  ? 

"  Nothing  is  worth  a  thought  beneath, 
But  how  I  may  escape  the  death 
That  never,  never  dies ; 


20  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

How  make  mine  own  election  sure ; 
And,  when  I  fail  on  earth,  secure 
A  mansion  in  the  skies. 

"  Jesus,  vouchsafe  a  pitying"  ray  ; 
Be  thou  my  guide,  be  thou  my  way 

To  glorious  happiness. 
Ah  !  write  the  pardon  on  my  heart, 
And  whensoe'er  I  hence  depart, 

Let  me  depart  in  peace."  7 

She  had  conquered.  Truths  so  solemn  and 
weighty,  borne  on  soul-moving  music,  and  il- 
lustrated by  the  humility  and  heroism  of  her 
who  now  sat  in  her  own  father's  house,  in  the 
midst  of  this  joyous  company,  alone  with  God, 
could  not  be  resisted.  The  father  wept  aloud, 
and  afterward  himself  became  a  trophy  of  his 
daughter's  courage  and  fidelity. 

As  an  instrument  of  expression  song  is 
equally  serviceable.  It  gathers  up  into  itself 
our  sweetest,  saddest,  most  heroic,  and  most 
spiritual  experiences.  When  the  soul  comes 
to  its  divinest  heights  song  is  sure  to  be  there. 
If  it  is  not  already  in  waiting  the  inspired  soul 
at  once  creates  it,  as  did  Mary  the  "  Magnificat  " 
and  Simeon  the  "  Nunc  Dimittis."  Rarely  was 
there  ever  witnessed  a  scene  of  more  thrilling 


THE    SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  21 

interest  than  that  of  the  reunion  of  the  Old 
and  New  School  divisions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  took  place  in  Pittsburg  in  May, 
1869.  On  the  day  appointed  the  two  bodies 
met  in  their  respective  places,  and  then,  hav- 
ing formed  in  the  street  in  parallel  columns, 
joined  ranks,  one  of  each  assembly  arm  in 
arm  with  one  of  the  other,  and  so  marched  to 
the  place  where  the  services  were  to  be  held. 
As  the  head  of  the  column  entered  the  church, 
already  crowded,  save  the  seats  reserved  for 
the  delegates,  the  audience  struck  up  the 
hymn,  "Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow,"  and 
when  all  were  in  their  places,  "All  hail  the 
power  of  Jesus'  name!"  After  the  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  came  the  hymn  of  Watts, 
"  Blest  are  the  sons  of  peace."  The  interest 
of  the  occasion  culminated  when  Dr.  Fowler, 
the  moderator  of  the  New  School  Assembly, 
at  the  close  of  his  remarks,  turned  to  Dr. 
Jacobus,  the  moderator  of  the  Old  School  As- 
sembly, and  said  :  "  My  dear  brother  modera- 
tor, may  we  not,  before  I  take  my  seat,  per- 
form a  single  act  symbolical  of  the  union 
which    has    taken    place     between     the     two 


22  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

branches  of  the  Church  ?  Let  us  clasp  hands  !" 
This  challenge  was  immediately  responded  to, 
when  all  joined  in  singing  the  grand  old  dox- 
ology  of  Bishop  Ken,  "  Praise  God,  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow  !  "  And  at  the  con- 
clusion of  Dr.  Jacobus's  remarks,  amid  flow- 
ing tears  and  with  swelling  hearts,  the  thou- 
sands present  joined  in  singing  the  precious 
hymn,  written  just  about  a  century  before,  by 
that  grand  and  tuneful  Baptist  minister,  John 
Fawcett,  himself  a  convert  of  George  White- 
field,  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds."  Little 
did  those  happy  Presbyterians  think  or  care 
that  two  of  the  hymns  for  this  hour  of  their 
supreme  gladness  were  furnished  by  Method- 
ists, one  by  a  Congregationalist,  one  by  an 
Episcopalian  bishop,  and  one  by  a  Baptist. 

And  so  do  hymns  bear  interesting  and  con- 
clusive testimony  to  the  catholicity  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  essential  unity  of  the  Church. 
In  them  we  see  what  is  essential  and  perma- 
nent as  contrasted  with  that  which  is  merely 
formal  and  ephemeral.  They  do,  indeed,  re- 
flect the  surface  of  the  Christian  consciousness, 
whose    phenomena  are  continually  changing  ; 


THE    SINGER   AND    THE    SONG.  23 

but  the  hymns  which  have  a  life  so  permanent 
as  to  be  accounted  the  "  hymns  of  the  ages" 
come  out  of  the  very  depths  of  that  conscious- 
ness. For  the  most  part,  such  hymns  do  not 
so  much  illustrate  the  variety  and  separations 
of  the  Church  as  its  oneness.  Christianity  is 
simply  the  one  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  how- 
ever multitudinous  may  be  the  channels 
through  which  it  flows,  it  is  every-where  and 
always  one.  And  so  our  hymnody  is  a  visible 
evangelical  alliance,  where  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant, Oriental  and  Occidental,  the  ancient 
and  the  modern,  Calvinist  and  Arminian, 
Unitarian  and  Evangelical,  blend  indistinguish- 
ably  in  the  one  grand  and  universal  song.  One 
of  the  best  illustrations  of  this  is  furnished  in 
the  history  of  a  hymn  which  all  Protestant 
Christians  agree  to  place  in  the  very  front  rank 
of  hymns,  "  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me."  Its 
author,  Mr.  Toplady,  was  one  of  the  best  and 
bitterest  of  Mr.  Wesley's  opponents,  the  points 
of  difference  between  them  being  mainly  such 
as  were  involved  in  the  Calvinistic  controversy. 
Especially  was  he  disgusted  at  the  Wesleyan 
doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  as  being,  in  his 


24  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

view,  inconsistent  with  the  doctrines  of  grace; 
and  so  he  wrote  this  hymn,  which  expresses 
the  utter  nothingness  of  human  merit,  and 
represents  the  soul  as  finding  its  only  refuge 
in  the  merit  of  Christ,  giving  to  it  this  contro- 
versial title :  "  A  living  and  dying  prayer  for 
the  holiest  believer  in  the  world."  The  hymn 
was  at  once  caught  up  by  Christian  people,  and 
by  none  more  eagerly  than  by  the  Methodists, 
against  whom  it  was  written,  and  who  to-day 
sing  it  as  heartily  as  they  do  the  hymns  of 
Charles  Wesley  himself.  Thus  did  Mr.  Top- 
lady  the  hymn-writer  demonstrate  his  one- 
ness with  the  very  people  against  whom  Mr. 
Toplady  the  polemic  had  leveled  his  keenest 
shafts. 


HYMNS    OF   THE    ANCIENT   CHURCH.        2$ 


CHAPTER  II. 

HYMNS    OF   THE    ANCIENT    CHURCH. 

TN  our  attempts  to  illustrate  this  subject  of 
hymnology  we  must  labor  under  one  embar- 
rassment. Many  of  the  most  notable  hymns 
were  written  in  other  languages  than  ours,  and 
a  lyric  poem  never  bears  translation  well.  That 
adjustment  of  sound  to  sense,  of  rhyme  and 
meter  to  thought,  which  makes  a  poem  perfect 
in  one  language,  if  once  it  be  disturbed  for 
purposes  of  translation,  can  never  be  perfectly 
restored.  When  these  beautiful  crystals  of 
thought  and  feeling  are  broken,  their  high  and 
peculiar  value  is  gone.  At  the  best  we  can 
only  use  the  fragments,  in  each  of  which  may 
be  seen  some  gleam  of  the  original  glory,  to 
help  us  to  conceive  what  that  glory  really  was. 
Some  of  the  best  and  most  eminent  hymns, 
whose  names  are  as  household  words,  have 
never  been  known,  and  can  never  be  known  by 
us  in  their  true  and  proper  character.     We  do 


26  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

not  see  them  face  to  face  ;  and  that  image  of 
them  which  is  reflected  in  the  best  translation 
is  more  or  less  distorted  and  imperfect.  They 
have  lost  in  great  measure  their  distinctive 
poetic  character — the  music  of  numbers,  the 
nice  adjustment  of  epithets,  the  delicate  hues 
of  spiritual  beauty,  and  many  of  those  gleams 
of  personal  life  and  experience  which  consti- 
tute the  peculiar  charm  of  lyric  poetry. 

The  oldest  hymn  of  the  Christian  Church 
outside  of  the  Bible  is  that  known  as  the  "  Tris- 
agion,"  or,  more  commonly,  by  its  Latin  name, 
"  Tersanctus  " — "  Thrice  holy."  It  is  the 
earliest  of  the  many  echoes  which  the  song  of 
the  seraphim,  as  heard  by  Isaiah,  has  awakened 
in  Christian  literature.  Neither  its  precise  date 
nor  author,  nor  the  circumstances  of  its  origin, 
can  now  be  ascertained.8  All  we  are  quite 
certain  of  is  that  it  goes  back  to  the  second 
century  of  Christian  history — to  that  age  which 
touched  upon  the  work  of  the  apostles  them- 
selves— and  that  it  has  from  the  first  held  its 
place  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  Christian  worship  ; 
for  it  is  found  in  all  the  ante-Nicene  liturgies  as 
well  as   in   the   principal   ones  of  later  times. 


HYMNS    OF   THE  ANCIENT    CHURCH.        2/ 

With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  brief  doxol- 
ogies,  it  contains  the  oldest  uninspired  words 
of  Christian  praise  in  any  language.  It  runs 
through  the  Christian  centuries  like  a  thread  of 
gold,  joining  in  one  the  praises  of  devout  hearts 
in  every  age  and  clime.  Even  in  the  words  of 
translation  in  which  we  know  it  its  simplicity 
and  beauty,  its  strength  and  majesty,  are  most 
evident : 

"  It  is  very  meet,  right,  and  our  bounden  duty,  that  we 
should  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  give  thanks  unto 
thee,  O  Lord,  holy  Father,  almighty,  everlasting  God. 
Therefore  with  angels  and  archangels,  and  all  the  com- 
pany of  heaven,  we  laud  and  magnify  thy  glorious  name, 
evermore  praising  thee,  and  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord 
God  of  hosts,  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory. 
Glory  be  to  thee,  O  Lord  most  high  ! " 

With  this  hymn  should  be  mentioned  an- 
other not  unlike  it  in  spirit  and  history.  It 
also  originated  probably  in  the  second  century, 
though  if  we  give  much  place  to  internal  evi- 
dence we  must  assign  to  it  an  origin  some- 
what later  than  the  "  Tersanctus."  From  the 
earliest  times  these  have  been  associated  to- 
gether, both  having  held  a  place  in  the  com- 
munion service.     We   refer  to  the  "  Gloria  in 


28  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Excelsis,"  9  a  longer  hymn  than  the  "  Tersanc- 
tus  M  and  more  emotional;  of  wider  scope  and 
burning  utterances,  "  with  whose  ringing  ac- 
cents of  praise  mingles  the  miserere  of  con- 
scious sin."  It  begins  among  the  angels,  tak- 
ing up  the  strains  of  angelic  rapture  which 
once  it  was  permitted  to  mortal  ears  to  hear, 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good-will  to  men  ;  "  but  speedily  does 
it  come  down  into  this  mortal  and  sinful  life, 
taking  up  with  solemn  iteration  the  one  prayer 
of  guilty  humanity,  "  Have  mercy  upon  us." 
We  are  told  that  the  early  martyrs  were  wont 
to  sing  this  hymn  on  their  wray  to  their  death ; 
and  yet,  like  the  blessed  Christ,  whose  nature 
and  offices  are  in  it  so  distinctly  reflected,  it  is 
equally  suited  to  all  who  dwell  in  this  mortal 
body: 

"  Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will to  men.  We  praise  thee,  we  bless  thee,  we  glorify 
thee,  we  give  thanks  to  thee  for  thy  great  glory,  O  Lord 
God,  heavenly  King,  God  the  Father  Almighty.  O 
Lord,  the  only  begotten  Son,  Jesus  Christ  ;  O  Lord  God, 
Lamb  of  God,  Son  of  the  Father,  that  takest  away  the 
sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us.  Thou  that  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy  upon  us.  Thou 
that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  receive  our  prayer. 


HYMNS    OF    THE    ANCIENT    CHURCH.        29 

Thou  that  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father, 
have  mercy  upon  us.  For  thou  only  art  holy ;  thou 
only  art  the  Lord;  thou  only,  O  Christ,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  art  most  high  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

There  is  still  another  hymn  which  is  in 
many  regards  more  notable  than  either  of 
those  already  mentioned.  It  is  at  once  a  hymn 
and  a  creed  ;  or,  rather,  as  Mrs.  Charles  beau- 
tifully says,  "  It  is  a  creed  taking  wing  and 
soaring  heavenward  ;  it  is  Faith  seized  with  a 
sudden  joy  as  she  counts  her  treasures,  and 
lays  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  a  song;  it 
is  the  incense  of  prayer  rising  so  near  the  rain- 
bow round  about  the  throne  as  to  catch  its 
light  and  become  radiant  as  well  as  fragrant — 
a  cloud  of  incense  illumined  into  a  cloud  of 
glory."  We  refer  to  the  "  Te  Deum  Lauda- 
mus,"1"  perhaps  the  grandest  anthem  of  Chris- 
tian praise  ever  written.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  give  it  in  full  in  this  place,  for  scarcely  any 
thing  in  Christian  literature  is  more  familiar  ; 
but  wre  will  not  forego  the  satisfaction  of  tran- 
scribing a  few  of  its  grand  sentences — sen- 
tences which  have  been  heard  in  every  great 
cathedral  in  the  world,  and  wakened  the  echoes 
of  every  clime  beneath  the  sun  : 


30  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

"  We  praise  thee,  O  God ;  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the 
Lord.  All  the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  Father  ever- 
lasting. To  thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,  the  heavens  and 
all  the  powers  therein.  To  thee  cherubim  and  seraphim 
continually  do  cry,  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  of  Sab- 
aoth.  Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  thy 
glory.  The  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise  thee. 
The  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets  praise  thee.  The 
noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  thee.  The  holy  Church 
throughout  all  the  world  doth  acknowledge  thee.  .  .  . 
Day  by  day  wre  magnify  thee  ;  and  we  worship  thy  name 
ever,  world  without  end." 

These  three  great  anonymous  hymns  of  the 
early  Church  never  assumed  a  perfect  metrical 
form,  but  only  that  of  measured  prose,  in  this 
regard  resembling  the  songs  and  snatches  or 
fragments  of  song  which  are  found  in  the  New- 
Testament  itself.  But  what  is  wanting  in  po- 
etical structure  is  more  than  made  up  in  dig- 
nity, simplicity,  and  universal  intelligibleness. 
With  little  loss  they  have  been  translated  into 
many  of  the  languages  into  which  the  Bible 
itself  has  gone ;  and  every-where  they  stand 
to  express  the  catholicity  of  Christianity  and 
the  unity  of  believers.  They  belong  peculiarly 
and  exclusively  to  no  sect  or  section  of  the 
Church,  but  equally  to  the  entire  Church. 
Neither  Churchman   nor  Romanist  can  claim 


HYMNS    OF   THE   ANCIENT    CHURCH.        3 1 

exclusive  proprietorship  in  them,  but,  like  the 
Bible  itself,  of  which  they  are  so  evidently  the 
offspring,  they  belong  to  all  who  "  profess  and 
call  themselves  Christians,"  of  every  tongue 
and  clime. 

We  may  not  leave  these  earliest  Christian 
hymns  without  reflecting  upon  the  grand  and 
sacred  mission  they  have  fulfilled.  They  have 
lifted  heavenward  the  worship  of  countless 
millions.  They  have  gone  through  the  world 
like  sweet-voiced  angels,  leading  our  discord- 
ant natures  into  harmony.  In  the  cathedral, 
the  humble  village  church,  the  cell  of  the 
monk,  the  palace  of  the  king,  the  tent  of  the 
nomad ;  in  the  catacombs,  by  the  martyr's 
stake ;  beneath  arctic  skies  and  torrid  suns  ; 
in  Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  America,  the  islands 
of  the  sea ;  wherever  the  angel  having  the 
everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  has  gone  there 
have  this  blessed  trio  gone  too.  And  in  the 
supreme  hour  of  mortal  life  they  have  been 
uttered  by  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  lifting 
the  soul  into  heavenly  rapture  even  from  the 
depths  of  mortal  agony.  So  it  is  that  men 
are — 


GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

••  Learning  here,  by  faith  and  love. 
Songs  oi  praise  to  sing  above.*1 

The  oldest  uninspired  Christian  hymn  which 
can  with  certainty  be  traced  to  its  author  was 

ten  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  died 
not  later  than  jjo  A.  D,  Of  his  personal  his- 
tory we  know  comparatively  little :  but  as  to 
his  intellectual  and  spiritual  life  we  have  K 
information.  He  represents  the  famous  city 
of  Alexandria,   which,   more   than    any  other, 

the  meeting-place  between  the  life  of  the 
East  and  the  West.  Here  was  originated  the 
Hellenistic  dialect  of  the  Greek  langv. 
which  has  for  its  precious  contents  the  Septu- 
agint  version  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  writ- 
ings of  Philo  and  Josephus,  and  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament.  One  of  his  teachers 
came  from  Ionia,  the  birthplace  of  the  grand- 
est poem  in  all  literature ;  another  from  Ccele- 
Syria,  the  vigor  and  glory  of  whose  civilization 
is  to-day  most  eloquently  attested  by  the  won- 
derful ruins  at  Baalbec;  another  still  came  from 
Assyria,  a  name  suggestive  of  all  that  is  ven- 
erable in  antiquity  and  illustrious  in  achieve- 
ment ;  while  vet  another  came  from  Italv,  but 


HYMNS    OF    THE    ANCIENT    CHURCH.        33 

originally  from  Egypt.  He  became  familiar 
with  Jewish  lore  at  the  school  of  Tiberias,  and 
he  learned  Christianity  from  Pantaenus,  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  Academy  in  Alex- 
andria. When  Pantaenus  left  this  position  to 
enter  upon  a  mission  to  the  heathen  of  India 
and  the  East  Clement  became  his  successor, 
and  he  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  his  own  dis- 
ciple, Origen,  the  most  eminent  and  learned  of 
all  the  Christian  fathers  of  the  third  century. 
It  is  probable  that  the  persecution  under  Sep- 
timius  Severus,  A.  D.  202,  compelled  Clement 
to  flee  from  Alexandria,  and  we  hear  of  him 
about  ten  years  later  visiting  Jerusalem,  and 
from  thence  to  Antioch,  commended  to  the 
Antiochans  by  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem  as  "a 
virtuous  and  tried  man,  and  one  not  alto- 
gether unknown  to  them." 

There  is  a  special  interest  connected  with 
Clement's  hymn  as  being  the  earliest  versified 
Christian  hymn,  and  so  the  distinguished 
leader  of  a  shining  host.  It  has  been  very 
justly  described  as  "  a  collection  of  images  in- 
terwoven like  a  stained  window,  of  which  the 
eye  loses   the  design  in   the    complication  of 


34  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

colors,  upon  which  maybe  traced,  as  in  quaint 
old  letters  on  a  scroll,  winding  through  all  the 
mosaic  of  tints,  Christ  all  in  all."  There  are 
several  metrical  versions  accessible  to  the  En- 
glish reader,  but  the  strictly  literal  rendering 
of  Mrs.  Charles  will  give  a  more  just  idea  of  its 
substance,  though  none  at  all  of  its  poetic 
structure  and  beauty : 

"  Mouth  of  babes  who  cannot  speak, 

Wing  of  nestlings  who  cannot  fly, 

Sure  guide  of  babes, 

Shepherd  of  royal  sheep, 

Gather  thine  own  artless  children 

To  praise  in  holiness, 

To  sing  in  guilelessness, 

With  blameless  lips, 

Thee,  O  Christ !  Guide  of  children. 

$  4s  ♦  ♦  ♦ 

Lead,  O  Shepherd 
Of  reasoning  sheep  ! 
Holy  One,  lead, 
King  of  speechless  children  ! 
The  footsteps  of  Christ 
Are  the  heavenly  way  ! 
Ever-flowing  word, 
Infinite  age, 
Perpetual  light, 
Fountain  of  mercy, 
Worker  of  virtue, 
Holy  sustenance 


HYMNS    OF   THE   ANCIENT    CHURCH.        35 

Of  those  who  praise  God,  Christ  Jesus — 

The  heavenly  milk 

Of  the  sweet  breasts 

Of  the  bride  of  graces 

Pressed  out  of  thy  wisdom  ! 

These  babes 

With  tender  lips  nourished — 

By  the  dew  of  the  Spirit  replenished — 

Their  artless  praises, 

Their  true  hymns, 

O  Christ,  our  King! 

Sacred  rewards 

Of  the  doctrine  of  life, 

We  hymn  together; 

We  hymn  in  simplicity, 

The  mighty  child, 

The  chorus  of  peace, 

The  kindred  of  Christ, 

The  race  of  the  temperate  ; 

We  will  praise  together  the  God  of  peace."  M 

The  eminent  biblical  scholar  Rev.  E.  H. 
Plumptre  has  made  an  excellent  metrical  ver- 
sion, which  may  be  helpful  in  bringing  us 
face  to  face  with  the  original.  We  transcribe 
two  stanzas : 

"  Shepherd  of  sheep,  that  own 
Their  Master  on  the  throne, 
Stir  up  thy  children  meek 
With  guileless  lips  to  speak, 
In  hymn  and  soul,  thy  praise. 


$6  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

O  King  of  saints,  O  Lord  ! 

Mighty,  all-conquering  Word ; 

Son  of  the  highest  God, 

Wielding  his  wisdom's  rod  ; 

Our  stay  when  cares  annoy, 

Giver  of  endless  joy  ; 

Of  all ;  our  mortal  race — 

Saviour  of  boundless  grace— 

O  Jesus,  hear ! 

*  *  *  * 

Lead  us,  O  Shepherd  true ! 
Thy  mystic  sheep,  we  sue. 
Lead  us,  O  holy  Lord, 
Who  from  thy  sons  dost  ward, 
With  all-prevailing  charm, 
Peril  and  curse  and  harm  ; 
O  path  where  Christ  hath  trod  ; 
O  way  that  leads  to  God ; 
O  word,  abiding  aye  ; 
O  endless  light  on  high, 
Mercy's  fresh-springing  flood, 
Worker  of  all  things  good  ; 
O  glorious  life  of  all 
That  on  their  Master  call- 
Christ  Jesus,  hear." 

But  that  version  of  the  hymn  which  is  most 
distinctly  lyrical  in  its  character,  though  it  de- 
parts very  widely  from  the  archaic  simplicity 
of  the  original,  is  the  one  commencing 

Shepherd  of  tender  youth.  12 
It  was  made  by  the  late  H.  M.  Dexter,  D.D., 


HYMNS    OF   THE   ANCIENT    CHURCH.        37 

editor  of  The  Congregationalist  newspaper, 
published  in  Boston.  This  version  is  now  very 
widely  used,  and  is  met  with  in  most  of  the 
leading  hymnals  both  of  America  and  Great 
Britam.  It  is  of  special  interest  and  signifi- 
cance that  this  oldest  of  our  versified  hymns  is 
so  full  of  Christ,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  clear 
in  its  recognition  of  his  relation  to  children. 
May  the  singing  of  it  by  the  churches  in  this 
latter  day  bring  us  into  more  perfect  sympathy 
with  that  Saviour  who  pronounced  upon  child- 
hood the  benediction  which  carries  in  its  bo- 
som all  blessed  possibilities :  "  Of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God  !  " 

But  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  ancient 
hymnody  is  that  of  Ambrose,  the  famous 
bishop  of  Milan  and  pastor  of  Monica,  the 
the  mother  of  Augustine.  He  was  a  man  of 
unusual  breadth  and  energy  of  character,  and 
it  was  given  him  to  achieve  a  remarkable  his- 
tory. The  son  of  a  prominent  civil  officer,  he 
was  himself  governor  of  the  province  of  Milan, 
and  as  such  was  present  to  keep  the  peace  in 
a  large  popular  assembly  convened  to  consider 
the  matter  of  electing  a   bishop,  when,  by  the 


38  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

voice  of  a  child,  he  was  himself  designated  for 
the  office.  After  what  was  doubtless  a  sincere 
but  ineffectual  attempt  to  resist  the  will  of  the 
people  in  this  regard,  he  was  baptized,  dis- 
tributed his  property  to  the  poor,  and  eight 
days  after  was  inducted  into  the  episcopal  of- 
fice. He  performed  the  duties  of  this  high 
office  with  zeal  truly  apostolic,  asserting,  as  no 
man  had  ever  done  before  him,  the  loving  in- 
tolerance of  Christianity  as  against  heathen 
religions.  Over  more  than  one  emperor  he 
exerted  a  strong,  if  not  absolutely  command- 
ing, influence.  Theodosius  the  Great  vener- 
ated him  as  father,  and  openly  declared  that 
he  was  the  only  bishop  worthy  of  the  title. 
When,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  this  same  Theodosius 
inflicted  terrible  cruelties  upon  the  rebellious 
Thessalonians,  Ambrose  refused  to  admit  him 
to  the  altar  until  he  had  done  public  penance. 
A  special  interest  attaches  to  Ambrose  be- 
cause of  his  connection  with  the  personal  his- 
tory of  the  distinguished  Augustine,  one  of  the 
greatest  men  of  his  time  or  of  any  time.  For 
thirteen  years  had  Monica  carried  on  her  heart 
the  great   burden   of  a  wayward    son,  waiting 


HYMNS   OF   THE   ANCIENT   CHURCH.        39 

upon  God  in  faith  and  prayer,  and  ministering 
to  him  with  maternal  patience  and  tenderness. 
The  stubbornness  and  rebellion  of  the  young 
man  seemed  to  mock  all  her  hopes,  and  she 
sought  refuge  and  strength  in  the  sympathy 
of  the  good  Ambrose.  With  bitter  weeping, 
she  poured  her  solicitude  and  sorrow  into  his 
ear.  "  Wait,"  said  the  man  of  God,  "wait 
patiently  ;  the  child  of  these  tears  cannot  per- 
ish." The  event  justified  the  prophecy  ;  for 
before  Monica's  star  went  down  the  sun  of 
Augustine  rose. 

Of  all  the  men  of  the  ancient  Church  the 
impress  of  Ambrose  upon  her  hymnody  is 
deepest.  Though  the  tradition  which  connects 
his  name  w7ith  the  "  Te  Deum  Laudamus  "  is 
not  to  be  trusted,  yet  to  him  must  be  accord- 
ed the  higher  honor  of  having  introduced  the 
singing  of  psalms,  and  especially  antiphonal 
and  responsive  singing,  in  the  Western  Church. 
There  are  about  a  dozen  hymns  extant  which 
the  Benedictine  editors  ascribe  to  Ambrose, 
besides  a  very  considerable  number  of  the 
same  general  character  which  are  designated 
Ambrosian.     They  are  all  remarkable  for  dig- 


40  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

nity  and  simplicity,  both  in  style  and  struct- 
ure, and  the  permanence  of  their  life  and  wide 
extent  of  their  influence  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  a  hymn  "  when  unadorned  is  adorned 
the  most."  Born  in  the  midst  of  theologic 
strife,  these  hymns  have  served  not  only  as 
instruments  of  devotion,  but  as  weapons  against 
heresy,  and  for  fifteen  hundred  years  have  been 
counted  among  the  choice  treasures  of  Chris- 
tian literature.  Among  the  best  of  these  hymns 
of  Ambrose,  in  their  most  approved  English 
translations,  are  : 

Now  doth  the  sun  ascend  the  sky, 

translated  from  the  Latin  original,  which  Dan- 
iel calls  Ambrosian,  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Cas- 
wall ;  this  hymn  was  chanted  by  the  priest- 
hood, in  full  choir,  at  the  death-bed  of  William 
the  Conqueror  in  A.  D.  1087  ;  and 

The  morning  kindles  all  the  sky,13 

translated  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Charles,  the  author 
of  the  Schonberg-Cotta  Family.     Another  ver- 
sion, by  Rev.  Dr.  A.  R.  Thompson,  begins : 
The  morning  purples  all  the  sky. 
A  third  Ambrosian  hymn  of  importance  is, 


HYMNS    OF   THE    ANCIENT    CHURCH.        4 1 

Redeemer  of  the  nations,  come.14 
It  is  difficult  for  us  fully  to  appreciate  the 
mission  and  influence  of  these  ancient  hymns. 
They  served  not  only  as  channels  of  devotion, 
but  as  witnesses  for  the  truth  and  as  safe- 
guards against  error.  The  testimony  which 
Augustine  himself  gives  as  to  the  influence  of 
the  church  music  on  his  heart  may  well  be 
taken  as  truthfully  illustrative  of  the  value  of 
this  feature  of  public  religious  service.  "  The 
hymns  and  songs  of  thy  Church  moved  my  soul 
intensely.  Thy  truth  was  distilled  by  them 
into  my  heart.  The  flame  of  piety  was  kin- 
dled, and  my  tears  flowed  for  joy."  15  This 
practice  of  singing  had  been  of  no  long  stand- 
ing at  Milan.  It  began  about  the  year  when 
Justina  persecuted  Ambrose  (A.  D.  386).  The 
pious  people  watched  in  the  church,  prepared 
to  die  with  their  pastor.  Augustine's  mother 
sustained  an  eminent  part  in  watching  and 
praying.  Then  hymns  and  psalms,  after  the 
manner  of  the  East,  were  sung  with  a  view  of 
preserving  the  people  from  weariness ;  and 
thence  the  custom  spread  through  the  Chris- 
tian churches.18 


42  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLIER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS. 

PROM  the  testimony  of  Augustine,  quoted 
at  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter,  we 
are  led  to  understand  that  hymns  and  music 
were  all  the  time  coming  into  greater  promi- 
nence in  the  services  of  the  Church.  As  was 
therefore  to  be  expected,  the  number  of  hymns 
representing  the  mediaeval  period  of  Christian 
history,  which,  in  round  numbers,  may  be  taken 
as  extending  from  the  close  of  the  fifth  cent- 
ury to  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  (500-1500),  is 
many  times  greater  than  those  representing 
the  ancient  Church.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century  it  is  doubtful  if  there  were  in  all 
one  hundred  Christian  hymns  in  addition  to 
the  Jewish  psalms,  which  were  then  doubtless 
widely  used.  When  Luther  arose  it  is  esti- 
mated that  there  were  at  least  one  thousand. 
As  compared  with  those  of  the  ancient  Church 
mediaeval  hymns  are  less  extensive  but  more 
intensive.       They   comprehend    less,  but    ex- 


EARLIER    MEDLEVAL    HYMNS  43 

s  more,  and  so  are  more  likely  to  be  used 
with  loving  interest.     As  was  to  :ted, 

the    development    of   church    life    coi 
tended  to  more  elaborate  and  im;  cere- 

monial, and  hence  church  music  seems  to  have 
undergone  a  process  of  rapid  development. 
Hymns  began  to  appear  in  greater  numbers, 
and  were  appropriated  to  a  greater  variety  of 
eccle-  But  they  came  very  v 

[y  t     be  regarded  as  intended  mainly  for  pub- 

.  /vice,  the  exclusive  property  of  the  church 
and  choir.  Hence,  instead  of  simple  lyrical  effu- 
sions, as  were  many  of  the  Jewish  psalms, 
suited  to  the  individual,  the  family,  and  child- 
hood, we  recognize  a  tendency  to  make  the 
hymn  a  stately  and  formal  matter,  fitted  to 
hold  a  place  in  grand  and   impr—  .arch 

monials.  In  the  earlier  part  of  this  me- 
diaeval period  we  find  the  hymns  clustering 
about  the  person  and  offices  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  of  the  H  rter  part 

of  this  period  some  of  the  most  - — such, 

for   instance,  as  the   "Celestial   Cc  and 

the  "  Dies  Irne  " — look  forward  to  the  sc 

nt  and  the  future  life,  though  oth     s 


44  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

devoted  to  the  praise  of  saints  and  the  cele- 
bration of  relics.  But  in  all  this  period,  as 
well  as  in  the  preceding,  the  hymns  which  have 
become  universal  and  permanent  are  those 
which  express,  in  directest  and  simplest  man- 
ner, the  deep  aspirations  of  the  devout  heart 
for  salvation  and  life  through  the  offices  of 
the  Saviour  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Bernard's  "  0  sacred  head,  now  wounded," 
Gregory's  "Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,"  King 
Robert's  "  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,"  and  the 
"  Veni,  Redemptor  Gentium  "  of  Ambrose 
are  illustrations  in  point. 

The  earliest  of  these  mediaeval  hymns  which 
have  come  to  a  wide  celebrity  were  written  by 
Venantius  Fortunatus,  an  Italian  gentleman, 
scholar,  priest,  and  finally  bishop,  who  was 
born  about  A.  D.  530,  and  died  A.  D.  609. 
As  in  many  other  instances,  these  songs  are 
more  famous  than  the  singer.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  probable  that  his  name  would  have  come 
down  to  these  later  Christian  centuries  had  it 
not  been  made  illustrious  by  his  justly  cele- 
brated hymns.  That  hymn  of  his  called  from 
its  opening  words  "  Vexilla  Regis  Prodeunt  " 


EARLIER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  45 

has  been  pronounced  by  Dr.  John  Mason 
Neale  "  one  of  the  grandest  in  the  treasury  of 
the  Latin  Church."  It  was  composed  to  cele- 
brate the  reception  of  certain  relics  by  his  pa- 
troness and  friend  Queen  Radegund,  and 
Gregory,  Bishop  of  Tours,  previous  to  the  con- 
secration of  the  church  at  Poictiers.  It  came 
at  once  to  be  used  as  a  processional  hymn, 
and,  from  the  character  of  the  theme,  in  those 
services  of  the  Church  devoted  to  the  memory 
of  our  Saviour's  passion  and  death.17  Several 
English  versions  of  this  hymn  have  been  made, 
among  the  best  of  which  is  one  by  Rev.  John 
Chandler: 

The  royal  banner  is  unfurled  ; 

and  one  by  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale  : 

The  royal  banners  forward  go. 

Of  these  the  first  is  best  suited  for  general  use 
as  a  hymn,  though  the  second  represents  the 
original  more  faithfully  and  vividly. 

There  is  another  hymn  of  Fortunatus — 
"  Salve  Festa  Dies  M — some  of  the  associations 
of  which  are  still  more  notable.  It  was  the 
most  widely  used  of  all  the  processional  hymns 


46  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

during  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  sung  by  Je- 
rome of  Prague  in  the  midst  of  his  dying  ago- 
nies. Cranmer  translated  it  into  English,  and 
wrote  a  letter  to  King  Henry  VIII.  requesting 
its  formal  authorization  for  use  in  the  churches, 
together  with  other  similar  hymns  and  lita- 
nies. This  translation  of  Cranmer  has  been 
lost,  but  the  letter  is  still  preserved  among 
the  state  papers  of  Great  Britain.  Several 
English  versions  of  this  hymn  have  been  made, 
one  of  the  best  of  which  is  that  commencing 

Welcome,  happy  morning  !  age  to  age  shall  say.18 

Contemporary  with  Fortunatus  was  Gregory 
the  Great,  born  of  a  noble  family  in  Rome 
about  550,  and  dying  604 — a  man  equaled 
by  no  other  of  his  time  and  by  very  few  of 
any  time.  A  monument  of  his  relation  to 
church  music  is  the  Gregorian  chant,  which 
places  him  not  by  the  side  of  Ambrose  in  this 
regard,  but  clearly  above  him.  This  was  in- 
tended for  the  choir  and  the  people  to  sing 
in  unison.  It  is  one  of  the  many  interesting 
facts  connecting  the  name  of  Gregory  with 
Great   Britain   that  the  first  attempt  to  intro- 


EARLIER    MEDIAEVAL   HYMNS.  47 

duce  this  chant  into  the  churches  resulted  in 
a  tumult  in  which  many  lives  were  lost. 

Another  of  the  most  interesting  associations 
of  Gregory  with  English-speaking  peoples  is 
through  the  great  hymn  which  is  prevailingly 
ascribed  to  him,  "  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus." 
By  many  this  hymn  has  been  attributed  to 
Charlemagne,  but  by  most,  and  with  better 
reason,  to  Gregory.'9  No  other  hymn  has 
had  more  honorable  recognition  in  the  serv- 
ices of  both  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  di- 
visions of  the  Church.  It  has  been  used  at  the 
coronation  of  kings,  the  creation  of  popes,  the 
consecration  of  bishops,  the  opening  of  synods 
and  conferences,  and  the  ordination  of  minis- 
ters. After  the  Reformation  it  was  one  of  the 
first  hymns  translated  into  both  German  and 
English,  and  has  doubtless  in  these  versions 
come  to  its  best  and  most  spiritual  uses. 
Bishop  Cosin's  English  version  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
in  1662,  and  later  into  the  Methodist  Disci- 
pline, the  ordinal  of  which  was  taken  sub- 
stantially from  the  English  prayer-book.  At 
no  point  in  the  services  of  either  the  Episcopal 


48  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

or  Methodist  Church  is  the  effect  more  impres- 
sive than  when,  after  the  solemn  hush  of  si- 
lent prayer,  the  bishop  and  clergy  take  up 
responsively, 

"  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire, 
A?td  lighten  with  celestial  fire"  etc. 

On  account  of  a  slight  irregularity  in  the  meter 
of  the  last  two  lines  this  version  of  Bishop 
Cosin  is  not  found  in  many  of  the  hymn- 
books,  though  it  has  very  properly  been  given 
a  place  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal.  Many  other 
versions  of  this  hymn  into  English  have  been 
made,  most  of  them  within  the  last  half  cent- 
ury.    One  of  the  best  is  that  commencing 

O  come,  Creator,  Spirit  blest ! 

Still  another  hymn  of  Gregory,  translated  by 
Ray  Palmer,  is  found  in  recent  collections: 

O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator,  Lord  ! 

With  Gregory's  "  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus  " 
should  be  associated  one  of  somewhat  later 
date,  but  almost  equally  notable  in  character 
and  history;  namely,  the  "Veni,  Sancte  Spir- 
itus," which  has  been  pronounced  by  an  emi- 


EARLIER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  49 

nent  authority  "  the  loveliest  of  all  the  hymns 
in  the  whole  circle  of  Latin  poetry."  Its  au- 
thor was  Robert  II.,  King  of  France,  who  was 
born  972,  came  to  the  throne  997,  and  died  in 
1031.  We  know  little  of  his  life;  but  it  has 
been  well  said  that  if  we  knew  nothing  the 
hymn  itself  gives  evidence  of  having  been 
composed  by  one  "  acquainted  with  many  sor- 
rows and  also  with  many  consolations."  Of 
the  former,  the  history  of  the  troublous  times 
in  which  the  king  lived  is  sufficient  proof;  of 
the  latter,  the  hymn  is  sweetly  expressive. 
The  king  was  a  great  lover  of  music,  and  used 
sometimes  to  go  to  the  church  of  St.  Denis 
and  take  direction  of  the  choir  at  matins  and 
vespers,  and  sing  with  the  monks.  It  is  said 
by  Dean  Trench  that  some  of  his  musical  as 
well  as  hymnic  compositions  still  hold  their 
place  in  the  services  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  extraordinary  perfection  of  the  hymn 
"  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus  "  has  made  it  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  produce  a  satisfactory  ver- 
sion. 

Of  the  many  excellent  versions  of  this  pre- 
cious hymn,  that  of  Ray  Palmer  is  one  of  the 


50  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

best  and  most  musical,  though  it  departs  from 
the  very  simple  measure  of  the  original : 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  in  love.20 

Two  hymnists  of  lesser  note  stand  about 
midway  between  Gregory  the  Great  and  King 
Robert ;  namely,  Andrew  of  Crete,  who  was 
born  about  660  and  died  in  732,  and  John  of 
Damascus,  who  died  about  a  half  century 
later.  Both  were  born  in  that  oldest  of  cities, 
Damascus,  which,  from  the  time  of  Abraham, 
has  stood  forth,  always  with  distinctness  and 
sometimes  with  commanding  influence,  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  The  former,  in  his  later 
years,  was  Archbishop  of  Crete.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  monothelite  controversy,,  which 
even  then  agitated  the  Church  in  some  locali- 
ties, at  first  giving  his  influence  in  favor  of 
this  heresy,  but  afterward  strongly  against  it. 
One  of  the  best  known  of  the  hymns  from  his 
pen  which  are  still  retained  by  the  Churches 
is  that  commencing 

Christian,  dost  thou  see  them  ? 21 

The  original  was  written  for  use  in  the  second 
week  of  the  great  fast  of  Lent,  and  this  fact  is 


EARLIER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  5  I 

very  clearly  reflected  in  the  hymn  itself.  The 
translation  is  by  Dr.  Neale.  One  other  hymn 
of  similar  character,  from  this  same  author, 
has  found  a  place  in  some  modern  hymn- 
books  : 

O  the  mystery  passing  wonder. 

More  interest  attaches  to  the  personal  his- 
tory of  John  of  Damascus,  as  he  is  also  more 
eminent  as  a  hymn-writer.  Born  at  Damascus, 
he  was  for  some  years  a  priest  in  Jerusalem, 
where  he  also  held  an  important  civil  office 
under  the  caliph.  He  was  an  accomplished 
scholar,  and  entered  into  the  theological  con- 
troversies of  his  time  with  great  zeal  and  elo- 
quence. But  as  many  another  has  done,  he 
held  "  the  unsheathed  sword  of  controversy 
until  its  glittering  point  drew  down  the  light- 
ning." He  retired  from  the  lists,  and  spent 
the  last  years  of  his  life  in  literary  and  relig- 
ious exercises  in  a  convent  between  Jerusalem 
and  the  Dead  Sea.  He  has  been  called  the 
greatest  poet  among  the  Greek  fathers,  as  he 
is  also  the  last.      His  best  known  hymn, 

The  clay  of  resurrection,22 


52  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

was  written  as  a  hymn  of  victory,  and  was 
"  sung  at  the  first  hour  of  Easter  morning, 
when,  amid  general  exultation,  the  people 
were  shouting,  '  Christ  is  risen/  '  Its  intrinsic 
excellence  is  only  equaled  by  its  appropriate- 
ness to  the  soul-stirring  occasion.  "  Of  the 
many  hymns  of  the  Church  which  celebrate 
the  resurrection,  perhaps  no  other  one  in  com- 
mon use  was  written  so  near  the  very  spot 
where  this  crowning  miracle  of  our  holy  relig- 
ion actually  occurred.'' 

St.  Joseph  of  the  Studium,  born  in  the  isl- 
and of  Sicily  808,  and  dying  883,  is  repre- 
sented in  our  modern  collections  by  several 
hymns. 

The  most  popular  of  his  hymns  is  the  one 
commencing 

O  happy  band  of  pilgrims. 

The  version  is  by  Dr.  Neale,  and  is  a  general 
favorite — a  bright  and  joyous  Christian  hymn. 
Joseph  was  early  driven  from  his  native  island 
to  Thessalonica,  where  he  was  first  a  monk  and 
ultimately  an  archbishop  ;  but  in  consequence 
of    the     fierce    iconoclastic    persecution,    was 


EARLIER    MEDIAEVAL   HYMNS.  53 

obliged  to  betake  himself  to  the  covert  of  the 
Western  Church.  Later  he  was  taken  by  pi- 
rates, and  enslaved  in  the  island  of  Crete  ;  but 
it  is  said  of  him  that  he  "  made  use  of  his  cap- 
tivity to  bring  his  captors  in  subjection  to  the 
faith."  Afterward  he  betook  himself  to  Rome, 
from  which  place  he  went  into  exile  with  his 
friend  Photius.  Recalled  from  this,  he  devoted 
himself  to  literary  pursuits,  and  wrote  many 
hymns,  most  of  which,  however,  being  in  praise 
of  saints,  are  little  known. 

In  this  general  period  of  Christian  history 
lived  that  man  who  may  rightly  be  designated 
the  illustrious  leader  of  the  most  of  hymn- 
writers  in  our  own  language — the  Venerable 
Bede.  Few  men  of  this  period  stand  so  fully 
commended  to  our  attention  and  our  admira- 
tion. Noble  in  character,  profound  in  scholar- 
ship, unwearied  in  labors,  wise  and  zealous  in 
his  devotion  to  the  Church,  he  was  a  man  to  be 
both  revered  and  loved.  It  is  said  of  him  that 
he  took  great  delight  in  the  singing  of  hymns, 
and  in  his  last  sickness,  when  his  asthma  pre- 
vented his  sleeping,  he  was  wont  to  solace 
himself  in  this  way.     Among  the  hymns    for 


54  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

which  the  modern  Church  is  indebted  to  Bede 
are : 

The  great  forerunner  of  the  morn. 

A  hymn  of  glory  let  us  sing. 

A  hymn  for  martyrs  sweetly  sing. 

This  last  is  perhaps  the  best  known.  It  was 
inserted  in  the  earlier  editions  of  the  Hymns 
Ancient  and  Modem,  the  version  being  changed 
from  that  of  Dr.  Neale.  The  original  has  stan- 
zas of  eight  lines,  each  of  which  begins  and 
ends  with  the  same  line.  To  illustrate,  we 
transcribe  two  stanzas : 

"  Fear  not,  O  little  flock  and  blest, 
The  lion  that  your  life  oppressed  ; 
To  heavenly  pastures  ever  new 
The  heavenly  Shepherd  leadeth  you  ; 
Who,  dwelling  now  on  Zion's  hill, 
The  Lamb's  dear  footsteps  follow  still ; 
By  tyrant  there  no  more  distressed, 
Fear  not,  O  little  flock  and  blest. 


And  every  tear  is  wiped  away 
By  your  dear  Father's  hand  for  aye ; 
Death  hath  no  power  to  hurt  you  more 
Whose  own  is  life's  eternal  shore. 


EARLIER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  55 

Who  sow  their  seed,  and  sowing  weep, 
In  everlasting  joy  shall  reap, 
What  time  they  shine  in  heavenly  day, 
And  every  tear  is  wiped  away." 

Another  of  these  hymns  shows  still  more 
power  of  lyrical  expression,  and  is  not  unsuited 
for  use  in  the  congregations  : 

"  A  hymn  of  glory  let  us  sing ; 
New  hymns  throughout  the  world  shall  ring  ; 
By  a  new  way  none  ever  trod 
Christ  mounted  to  the  throne  of  God. 

"  The  apostles  on  the  mountain  stand, 
The  mystic  mount  in  holy  land  ; 
They,  with  the  virgin  mother,  see 
Jesus  ascend  in  majesty. 

"  The  angels  say  to  the  eleven, 
Why  stand  ye  gazing  into  heaven  ? 
This  is  the  Saviour,  this  is  he ; 
Jesus  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 

"  They  said  the  Lord  should  come  again, 
As  these  beheld  him  rising  then, 
Calm,  soaring  through  the  radiant  sky, 
Mounting  its  dazzling  summits  high. 

u  May  our  affections  thither  tend, 
And  thither  constantly  ascend, 
Where,  seated  on  the  Father's  throne, 
Thee,  reigning  in  the  heavens,  we  own  !  " 


56  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LATER    MEDI/EVAL    HYMNS. 

IN  a  desolate  region  near  the  river  Seine,  in 
the  north  easterly  part  of  France,  is  a  wild 
valley  inclosed  by  mountains,  which  in  the 
eleventh  century  was  a  nest  of  robbers,  and  for 
that  reason  was  called  "  The  Valley  of  Worm- 
wood ;  M  but  after  the  banditti  were  driven  out 
it  was  called  Clairvanx — "  Clear  Valley/' 
Here,  in  1115,  was  established  a  monastery  of 
the  Cistercian  Order,  with  a  young  man  of 
twenty-four  as  abbot,  famous  in  history  as 
Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  So  magical  was  his  in- 
fluence that  speedily  this  sterile  valley  became 
one  of  the  great  centers  of  power  for  all  Eu- 
rope, rivaling  even  Rome  itself.  From  it  wrere 
sent  out  missionaries  to  all  parts  of  France, 
Italy,  Spain,  Switzerland,  Germany,  England, 
Ireland,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  monasteries,  or  the  reforma- 
tion of  old  ones ;  so  that  at  the  time  of  Ber- 
nard's  death,    thirty-seven    years    later,    there 


LATER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  57 

were  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  mon- 
asteries which  had  been  formed  under  his 
influence. 

Bernard  was  born  in  a  small  town  in  Bur- 
gundy in  the  year  1091,  and  was  educated  at 
the  University  of  Paris.  His  father  was  a 
knight,  his  mother  a  saint.  To  this  superior 
woman,  as  to  the  mothers  of  Augustine  and 
the  Wesleys,  must  be  attributed  much  of  the 
strength  of  character  exhibited  by  her  remark- 
able son.  She  brought  all  her  children — 
seven  sons  and  a  daughter — as  soon  as  they 
saw  the  light,  to  the  altar,  that  she  might  sol- 
emnly consecrate  them  to  God  ;  which  conse- 
cration she  followed  up  by  wise,  tender,  patient, 
and  loving  instruction.  As  a  result,  strong  re- 
ligious impressions  were  early  made  upon  the 
mind  of  Bernard,  who  was  the  third  of  her 
sons,  and  after  his  mother's  death  they  ma- 
tured into  his  taking  the  vows  of  monastic 
devotion. 

Bernard  wras  altogether  the  grandest  man  of 
this  dark  time.  Luther  calls  him  "  the  best 
monk  that  ever  lived/'  In  his  personal  influ- 
ence he  was  mightier  than  kings  or  popes,  and 


58  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

was  often  the  chosen  and  trusted  counselor  of 
both.  He  was  repeatedly  sought  as  bishop  for 
influential  centers  in  the  Church,  but  steadily 
refused  all  ecclesiastical  preferment. 

What  distinguished  Bernard  above  all  other 
men  of  his  time,  and  most  men  of  all  time, 
was  the  union  in  his  character  of  a  piety  singu- 
larly ardent  and  spiritual  with  transcendent 
administrative  ability.  Almost  the  only  man 
fully  worthy  to  be  compared  with  him  in  this 
regard  is  John  Wesley.  He  was  both  contem- 
plative and  practical.  He  felt  the  full  power 
of  the  forces  of  the  invisible  world,  and  under 
their  pressure  he  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  outward  world  a  many-sided  activity.  He 
felt  himself  to  be  in  the  world  on  God's  errand. 
"I  must,"  he  says,  "whether  willing  or  un- 
willing, live  for  him  who  has  acquired  a  prop- 
erty in  my  life  by  giving  up  his  own  for  me." 
"  To  whom  am  I  more  bound  to  live  than  to 
him  whose  death  is  the  cause  of  my  living  ? 
To  whom  can  I  devote  my  life  with  greater 
advantage  than  to  him  who  promises  me  the 
life  eternal  ?  To  whom  with  greater  necessity 
than  to  him  who  threatens  the  everlasting  fire  ? 


LATER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  59 

But  I  serve  him  with  freedom,  since  love  brings 
freedom.  To  this,  dear  brethren,  I  invite  you. 
Serve  in  that  love  which  casteth  out  fear,  feels 
no  toils,  thinks  of  no  merit,  asks  no  reward, 
and  yet  carries  with  it  a  mightier  constraint 
than  all  things  else."  In  such  words  as  these 
do  we  see  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  and  sub- 
lime life. 

Seven  poems  from  the  pen  of  Bernard  have 
been  preserved  ;  but  most  of  his  hymns  which 
are  in  use  are  from  one  of  these — different  ver- 
sions of  different  parts.  The  best  known  of 
these  hymns  are: 

O  sacred  head  now  wounded. 

Of  Him  who  did  salvation  bring. 

We  sinners,  Lord,  with  earnest  heart. 

Jesus,  thou  joy  of  loving  hearts. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee. 

O  Jesus,  King  most  wonderful. 

O  Jesus,  thou  the  beauty  art.23 

The  first  of  these  is  the  most  famous,  and 
indeed  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  all 
mediaeval  hymns.     In  its  present  form   it  is  a 


60  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

translation  of  a  translation,  and  hence  is,  in  a 
special  sense,  a  monument  of  the  unity  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Its  first  translator  into 
German,  and  in  some  sense  co-author,  was 
that  prince  of  German  hymnists,  Paul  Ger- 
hardt ;  while  the  translator  into  English  was 
the  distinguished  American  Presbyterian,  Dr. 
James  W.  Alexander.  In  this  version  the 
hymn  is  adopted  in  most  English  hymnals  of 
recent  date  ;  the  only  ones  showing  any  dis- 
position to  pass  it  by  being  those  of  the  so- 
called  liberalistic  faith,  it  being  unacceptable 
in  them  because  of  the  prominence  it  gives  to 
the  death  of  Christ.  Dr.  Philip  Schaff  says: 
"  This  classical  hymn  has  shown  an  imperish- 
able vitality  in  passing  from  the  Latin  into  the 
German  and  from  the  German  into  the  En- 
lish,  and  proclaiming  in  three  tongues,  and  in 
the  name  of  three  confessions — the  Catholic, 
the  Lutheran,  and  the  Reformed — with  equal 
effect,  the  dying  love  of  our  Saviour  and  our 
boundless  indebtedness  to  him."  It  was  this 
hymn  which  the  missionary  Schwartz  sang, 
literally  with  his  dying  breath.  Indeed  he  was 
thought  to  be  already  dead,  and  his  friend  and 


LATER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  6l 

fellow-laborer,  Gericke,  with  several  of  the 
native  Tamil  converts,  began  to  chant  over  his 
lifeless  remains  this  hymn  of  Bernard,  which 
had  been  translated  in  Tamil,  and  was  a  spe- 
cial favorite  with  Schwartz.  The  first  verse  was 
finished  without  any  sign  of  recognition,  or 
even  of  life,  from  the  still  form  before  them  ;  but 
when  the  last  clause  was  over,  the  voice  which 
was  supposed  to  be  hushed  in  death  took  up 
the  second  stanza  of  the  hymn,  completed  it 
with  distinct  and  articulate  utterance,  and  then 
was  heard  no  more.  His  spirit  had  risen  on 
this  hymn  into  the  society  of  angels  and  the 
presence  of  God. 

By  an  eminent  authority  Adam  of  St.  Vic- 
tor is  pronounced  "  the  greatest  of  the  Latin 
hymnologists  of  the  Middle  Ages."  So  little 
is  known  of  his  personal  history  that  it  is  still 
a  matter  of  uncertainty  whether  he  was  born 
in  the  island  of  Great  Britain  or  in  Brittany  in 
France,  though  probably  the  latter.  He  pur- 
sued his  studies  at  Paris,  and  his  works  show 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  thorough  literary  and 
theological  culture.  He  was  contemporary 
with  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  but  seems  to  have 


62  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

outlived  him  by  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
He  was  the  most  prolific  as  well  as  elegant 
hymn-writer  of  the  mediaeval  period,  leaving  be- 
hind him  about  one  hundred  hymns,  of  which 
at  least  one  half  are  of  acknowledged  excellence. 
As  often  happens,  however,  his  hymns  have  a 
special  charm  and  subtlety  which  seem  almost 
indissolubly  connected  with  the  language  in 
which  they  were  written,  and  so  have  baffled  the 
translators.  Very  few  of  them  have  come  into 
our  own  language  in  a  form  which  either  does 
justice  to  the  original,  or  is  well  suited  for  use 
in  public  worship.  Miller,  in  his  Singers  and 
Songs  of  the  Church,  quotes  two  from  the 
People's  Hymnal: 

The  Church  on  earth  with  answering  love. 

The  praises  that  the  blessed  know. 

The  famous  hymns  of  this  period  are  "  The 
Celestial  Country,0  the  u  Stabat  Mater,"  and 
the  "  Dies  Irae  ;  "  which  have  been  pronounced, 
and  in  the  order  given,  the  most  beautiful, 
the  most  pathetic,  and  the  most  sublime  of 
mediaeval  poems. 

The    author  of    the    first    was    Bernard   of 


LATER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  63 

Cluny,  of  whom  we  know  almost  nothing  save 
the  name,  and  that  he  lived  in  the  first  half  of 
the  twelfth  century.  Even  the  place  of  his 
birth  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty,  most  author- 
ities placing  it  in  Morlaix,  in  Bretagne  ;  others 
in  Morlas,  in  the  Pyrenees  Mountains,  while 
one  author  gives  his  birthplace  to  England, 
and  classes  him  with  her  illustrious  writers. 

Bernard's  great  poem — "  De  Contemptu 
Mundi  M — contains  three  thousand  lines,  writ- 
ten in  a  meter  so  difficult  as  to  give  color  to 
the  claim  of  the  author  that  he  could  never 
have  written  without  the  special  help  and 
inspiration  of  God.  Each  line  in  the  orig- 
inal consists  of  three  parts,  the  first  two  of 
which  rhyme  wTith  each  other,  while  the  lines 
themselves  are  in  couplets  of  double  rhyme. 
The  music  of  the  original  is  easily  recognized, 
even  by  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  the 
Latin  tongue  : 

"  Hora  novissima,  tempora  pessirna,  sunt  vigilemus 
Ecce  minaciter,  imminet  arbiter,  ille  supremus, 
Imminet,  imminet,  et  mala  terminet  asqua  coronet 
Recta  remuneret,  anxia  liberet,  asthera  donet."24 

A  portion  of  this  poem  was  translated  a  few 


64  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

years  since  by  Dr.  Neale,  and  given  to  the 
public  under  this  title — "  The  Rhythm  of  Ber- 
nard de  Morlaix,  Monk  of  Cluny,  on  the  Ce- 
lestial Country  " — from  which  version  have 
been  taken  the  hymns  in  common  use  from 
Bernard.     These  are  : 

The  world  is  very  evil. 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion. 

For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country. 

Jerusalem,  the  golden. 

The  editor  of  The  Seven  Great  Hymns  of  the 
Mediceval  Church  calls  this  last  poem  "  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  celestial  land,  more  beautiful  than 
ever  before  was  wrought  out  in  verse."  "  The 
hymn  of  this  heavenly  monk,"  says  Christo- 
phers, "  has  found  its  way  into  the  hearts  of 
all  Christians,  and  into  the  choirs  and  public 
services  of  all  Christian  churches."  Perhaps 
no  other  hymns  on  heaven  are  more  widely 
used,  or  more  strictly  ecumenical,  than  those 
which  have  been  made  from  this  poem.  It 
may  not  be  without  interest  to  read  the  testi- 
mony of  the  author  of  the  version  as  to  the 
music  to  which  these  words  should  be  sung  : 


LATER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  65 

"  I  have  been  so  often  asked  to  what  tune  the 
words  of  Bernard  should  be  sung  that  I  may 
here  mention  that  of  Mr.  Ewing,  the  earliest 
written,  the  best  known,  and,  with  children, 
the  most  popular  ;  that  of  my  friend,  the  Rev. 
H.  L.  Jenner,  perhaps  the  most  ecclesiastical  ; 
and  that  of  another  friend,  Mr.  Edmund  Sed- 
ding,  which,  to  my  mind,  best  expresses  the 
meaning  of  the  words."  Of  these  the  tune 
Ewing  is  in  common  use  in  the  American 
churches,  and  is  certainly  fully  deserving  of 
the  honor  of  being  permanently  associated 
with  "  Jerusalem,  the  golden." 

The  "  Stabat  Mater  "  was  written  a  hundred 
years  later  by  Jacobus  de  Benedictus,  a  man  of 
a  noble  Italian  family,  and  a  jurist  of  eminent 
distinction.  Broken-hearted  at  the  death  of 
his  wife — who  lost  her  life  by  an  accident  at  a 
theater— he  renounced  the  world  to  join  the 
order  of  St.  Francis,  seeking  by  self-inflicted 
physical  tortures  to  chastise  his  soul  into  sub- 
mission and  peace.  It  is  also  related,  though 
this  has  been  questioned,  that  his  sorrows  drove 
him  to  insanity  and  death. 

The  hymn  is  characterized  in  a  pre-eminent 
5 


66  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

degree  by  tenderness  and  pathos  ;  in  these  re- 
gards surpassing  all  other  hymns  of  the  Latin 
Church.  One  of  the  best  translations  of  it  is 
that  made  by  our  own  distinguished  scholar 
and  statesman,  the  late  General  John  A.  Dix, 
ex-Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

We  quote  a  few  lines  of  this  version,  which 
is  faithful  and  felicitous  in  diction  and 
measure  :  25 

"  Near  the  cross  the  Saviour  bearing 
Stood  the  mother  lone,  despairing, 

Bitter  tears  down-falling  fast ; 
Wearied  was  her  heart  with  grieving, 
Worn  her  breast  with  sorrow  heaving, 

Through  her  soul  the  sword  had  passed. 

"  Ah  !  how  sad  and  broken-hearted 
Was  that  blessed  mother,  parted 

From  the  God-begotten  One  ; 
How  her  loving  heart  did  languish, 
When  she  saw  the  mortal  anguish 

Which  o'erwhelmed  her  peerless  Son  ! 

"  Who  could  witness,  without  weeping, 
Such  a  flood  of  sorrow  sweeping 

O'er  the  stricken  mother's  breast  ? 
Who  contemplate,  without  being 
Moved  to  kindred  grief  by  seeing, 

Son  and  mother  thus  oppressed  ? 


LATER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  67 

M  For  our  sins  she  saw  him  bending, 
And  the  cruel  lash  descending 

On  his  body  stripped  and  bare  ; 
Saw  her  own  dear  Jesus  dying, 
Heard  his  spirit's  last  outcrying, 

Sharp  with  anguish  and  despair. 

"  Gentle  mother,  love's  pure  fuuntain  ! 
Cast,  O  cast  on  me  the  mountain 

Of  thy  grief,  that  I  may  weep ; 
Let  my  heart,  with  ardor  burning, 
Christ's  unbounded  love  returning, 

His  rich  favor  win  and  keep." 


There  is  a  companion  hymn  to  this,  written 
by  the  same  author,  which  has  but  recently 
been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Christian 
public.26  It  is  called  the  "  Mater  Speciosa," 
as  might  the  other  be  called  the  "  Mater  Do- 
lorosa." From  the  oblivion  of  centuries  it  has 
been  rescued  by  editors  and  translators  of  the 
present  generation,  Dr.  Neale  having  given  his 
English  version  of  this  hymn  to  the  public  in 
1866.  As  the  "  Stabat  Mater"  represents 
Mary  standing  at  the  cross,  the  "  Mater  Spe- 
ciosa "  represents  her  by  the  manger.  As, 
therefore,  the  first  is  a  hymn  for  Good  Friday, 
the  latter  is  a  Christmas  hymn  of  singular  del- 


68  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

icacy,    beauty,    and   warmth    of    feeling.     We 
quote  a  part  of  Dr.  Neale's  version  : 

"  Full  of  beauty  stood  the  mother 
By  the  manger,  blest  o'er  other, 

Where  her  little  one  she  lays  ; 
For  her  inmost  soul's  elation, 
In  its  fervid  jubilation, 

Thrills  with  ecstasy  of  praise. 

"  O  !  what  glad,  what  rapturous  feeling 
Filled  that  blessed  mother,  kneeling 

By  the  sole-begotten  One  ! 
How,  her  heart  with  laughter  bounding, 
She  beheld  the  work  astounding, 

Saw  his  birth — the  glorious  Son ! 


"Jesus  lying  in  the  manger, 
Heavenly  armies  sang  the  stranger, 

In  the  great  joy-bearing  part ; 
Stood  the  old  man  with  the  maiden, 
No  words  speaking,  only  laden 

With  this  wonder  in  their  heart. 

"  Mother,  fount  of  love  still  flowing, 
Let  me,  with  thy  rapture  glowing, 

Learn  to  sympathize  with  thee  ; 
Let  me  raise  my  heart's  devotion 
Up  to  Christ  with  pure  emotion, 

That  accepted  I  may  be  " 

But  the  great  hymn  of  this  period,  and  of  all 


LATER    MEDIAEVAL    HYMNS.  69 

periods,  is  the  "  Dies  Irae."  It  is  commonly 
attributed  to  a  Franciscan  monk  of  the 
thirteenth  century — Thomas  of  Celano — but 
the  evidence  as  to  the  identity  of  the  author  is 
by  no  means  conclusive.  Thomas  was  a  per- 
sonal friend  as  well  as  pupil  of  St.  Francis, 
and  was  selected  by  Pope  Gregory  to  write 
his  life.  His  native  home  was  in  a  small  town 
in  the  kingdom  of  Naples ;  but  so  little  is 
known  of  him  that  not  even  the  dates  of  his 
birth  and  death  can  be  accurately  given.  In 
truth,  then,  this  great  hymn  may  be  fitly  char- 
acterized as  "  a  solemn  strain,  sung  by  an  in- 
visible singer."  "  There  is  a  hush  in  the  great 
choral  service  of  the  universal  Church,  when 
suddenly,  we  scarcely  know  whence,  a  single 
voice,  low  and  trembling,  breaks  the  silence  ; 
so  low  and  grave  that  it  seems  to  deepen  the 
stillness,  yet  so  clear  and  deep  that  its  softest 
tones  are  heard  throughout  Christendom  and 
vibrate  through  every  heart — grand  and  echo- 
ing as  an  organ,  yet  homely  and  human,  as  if 
the  words  were  spoken  rather  than  sung.  And 
through  the  listening  multitudes  solemnly 
that  melody  flows  on,  sung  not  to  the  multi- 


70  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

tudes,  but  '  to  the  Lord,'  and  therefore  carry- 
ing with  it  the  hearts  of  men,  till  the  singer  is 
no  more  solitary  ;  but  the  self-same,  tearful, 
solemn  strain  pours  from  the  lips  of  the  whole 
Church  as  if  from  one  voice,  and  yet  each  one 
sings  as  if  alone  to  God." 

The  hymn  has  been  a  force  in  the  world  of 
letters  as  well  as  that  of  religious  thought  and 
experience.  It  has  passed  into  upward  of  two 
hundred  translations,  and  has  called  forth  the 
admiration  of  the  most  eminent  scholars.  The 
sturdy  Dr.  Johnson  confessed,  with  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  that  he  could  not  recite  it  without  tears. 
Mozart  made  it  the  basis  of  his  celebrated 
requiem,  and  became  so  intensely  excited  by 
the  theme  as  to  hasten  his  own  death.  With 
what  power  do  those  few  stanzas  burst  upon  us 
in  Scott's  "  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel !  M — 

"  Then  mass  was  sung,  and  prayers  were  said, 

And  solemn  requiem  for  the  dead, 

And  bells  tolled  out  their  mighty  peal, 

For  the  departed  spirit's  weal ; 

And  ever  in  the  office  close 

The  hymn  of  intercession  rose ; 

And  far  the  echoing  aisles  prolong 

The  awful  burden  of  the  song — 


LATER    MEDIEVAL   HYMNS.  7 1 

1  Dies  irae,  dies  ilia, 
Solvet  sasclum  in  favilla  ; ' 

While  the  pealing  organ  rung ; 
Were  it  meet  with  sacred  strain 
To  close  my  lay,  so  light  and  vain, 

Thus  the  holy  fathers  sung : 

"  That  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day, 
When  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
What  power  shall  be  the  sinner's  stay? 
How  shall  he  meet  that  dreadful  day  ? 

"  When,  shriveling  like  a  parched  scroll, 
The  flaming  heavens  together  roll ; 
When  louder  yet,  and  yet  more  dread, 
Swells  the  high  trump  that  wakes  the  dead ! 

"  O  !  on  that  day,  that  wrathful  day, 
When  man  to  judgment  wakes  from  clay, 
Be  thou  the  trembling  sinner's  stay, 
Though  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away ! " 

This  version  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  not 
strictly  a  translation,  nor  yet  an  imitation,  but 
rather  one  of  the  many  echoes  which  the  "  Dies 
Irae  "  has  awakened  in  the  literature  of  the 
world.  It  is,  however,  faithful  to  the  spirit  of 
the  original,  and  of  remarkable  power.  The 
hold  which  it  had  on  the  mind  of  its  eminent 
author  was  shown  by  his  frequent  repetition  of 
it  in  the  delirium  of  his  final  illness. 


72  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

As  already  stated,  the  versions  of  this  hymn 
may  be  counted  by  the  hundred.  A  single 
author  collected  about  eighty  versions  into  the 
German  language  alone.  A  large  number  of 
excellent  versions  have  been  made  into  our 
own  language  by  Irons,  Coles,  Earl  Roscom- 
mon, Crashaw,  Stanley,  General  Dix,  and 
others.  Several  of  these  are  of  marked  excel- 
lence ;  but  that  of  Dean  Stanley  has  some  ad- 
vantages for  being  set  to  music,  while  it  is  at 
the  same  time  very  faithful  as  a  translation. 
The  opening  line  of  this  version  is: 

Day  of  wrath  !  O  dreadful  day  ! 

The  version  of  Dr.  Irons  will,  however,  be 
thought  by  many  to  represent  more  vividly 
the  spirit  of  the  original,  though  the  meter  is 
such  as  to  make  it  very  difficult  to  find  music 
for  it  adapted  to  the  ordinary  use  of  a  congre- 
gation.    From  this  version  we  transcribe : 

"  Day  of  wrath  !  O  day  of  mourning  ! 
See  !  once  more  the  cross  returning, 
Heaven  and  earth  in  ashes  burning! 

"  O  what  fear  man's  bosom  rendeth, 
When  from  heaven  the  Judge  descendeth, 
On  whose  sentence  all  dependeth  ! 


LATER    MEDIEVAL    HYMNS.  73 

"  Wondrous  sound  the  trumpet  flingeth, 
Through  earth's  sepulchers  it  nngeth, 
All  before  the  throne  it  bringeth  ! 

"  Death  is  struck,  and  nature  quaking, 

All  creation  is  awaking, 

To  its  Judge  an  answer  making ! 

44  Lo  !  the  book,  exactly  worded, 
Wherein  all  hath  been  recorded  ; 
Thence  shall  judgment  be  awarded  ! 

"  What  shall  I,  frail  man,  be  pleading  ? 
Who  for  me  be  interceding, 
When  the  just  are  mercy  needing  ? 

"  Righteous  Judge  of  retribution, 

Grant  thy  gift  of  absolution 

Ere  that  reckoning  day's  conclusion  !  " 

About  a  century  earlier  dates  the  more  joy- 
ous but  less  famous  counterpart  of  the  "  Dies 
Irse,"  known  as  the  "  Dies  Ilia."  Its  author 
is  unknown.  It  is  well  represented  in  the  ex- 
cellent version  of  Mrs.  Charles: 

Lo  !  the  day,  the  day  of  life  ! 


74  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS. 

^  TPHE  hymns  of  Germany  have  been  her  true 
national  liturgy.  In  England  the  worship 
of  the  Reformed  Church  was  linked  to  that  of 
past  ages  by  the  Prayer-book ;  in  Germany  by 
the  hymn-book."  We  can  mark  some  connec- 
tions between  the  hymns  and  music  of  the 
Middle  Ages  and  the  psalmody  of  the  German 
Church,  showing  the  steps  by  which  the  one 
passed  over  into  the  other. 

The  humble  beginnings  of  German  hymnol- 
ogy,  which  have  come  to  a  development  so  mar- 
velously  rich,  were  made  in  the  ninth  century. 
In  the  time  of  Charlemagne  the  only  part 
which  the  people  were  allowed  to  take  in  the 
services  of  the  church  was  to  chant  the  "  Kyrie 
Eleison  "  in  the  litany,  and  that  only  on  ex- 
traordinary occasions,  such  as  the  great  feasts, 
processions,  and  the  consecration  of  churches. 
But  in  Germany  during  the  following  century 
short  verses  in  the  vernacular  were  introduced 


HYMNS    FROM    GERMAN   AUTHORS.  75 

at  such  times,  of  which  the  refrain  was  "  Kyrie 
Eleison,"  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  hym- 
nody  in  the  German  language.  The  oldest 
German  Easter  hymn  dates  from  the  twelfth 
century.  The  Latin  hymn,  "  In  the  midst  of 
life,"  one  sentence  of  which  stands  in  the  En- 
glish Prayer-book  in  the  order  for  the  burial 
of  the  dead,  and  is  said  actually  to  have  been 
taken  by  Robert  Hall  as  a  text  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  a  sermon,  under  the  impression  that 
it  was  a  sentence  of  holy  Scripture,  was  writ- 
ten by  Notker,  a  learned  Benedictine,  near  the 
beginning  of  the  tenth  century.  It  was  sug- 
gested to  him  as  he  was  watching  some  work- 
men who  were  building  the  bridge  of  Martins- 
burg  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  The  hymn  at- 
tained to  a  wonderful  celebrity,  and  was  even 
used  as  a  battle-song,  until  finally  its  use  in 
this  way  was  forbidden  on  account  of  its  being 
supposed  to  exercise  a  magical  influence.  It 
was  early  translated  into  German,  and  this 
version  formed  a  part  of  the  service  for  the 
burial  of  the  dead  as  early  as  the  thirteenth 
century. 

The  Flagellant  fanaticism  exerted  an  impor- 


j6  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

tant  influence  in  fostering  and  establishing  the 
practice  of  singing  hymns  in  the  vernacular  of 
the  people.  Processions  of  these  pious  pil- 
grims would  go  through  the  towns  and  cities 
singing  hymns  and  chants  which  found  ready 
access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  became 
a  very  influential  factor  in  this  extraordinary 
movement.  The  great  Hussite  movement, 
which  stirred  the  Church  more  profoundly  and 
interested  some  of  the  most  cultured  and  spir- 
itual men  of  the  fifteenth  century,  gave  new 
impetus  and  dignity  to  this  tendency,  so  that 
really  useful  popular  hymns  were  originated. 
In  1 504  a  considerable  volume  of  hymns,  which 
had  been  in  use  among  the  "  Bohemian  Breth- 
ren," was  published  by  Lucas,  one  of  their 
bishops.  In  the  fifteenth  century  German 
hymns  came  to  be  used  in  special  services  and 
solemnities  of  the  Church,  and,  in  some  cases, 
even  at  the  principal  service  and  at  mass. 
Mixed  hymns,  half  Latin  and  half  German, 
also  contributed  their  influence  to  breaking 
down  the  barrier  between  the  learned  clergy 
and  the  common  people,  and  also  between  the 
Church  and  the  home.    Translations  and  adap- 


HYMNS    FROM    GERMAN    AUTHORS.  JJ 

tations  of  the  old  Latin  hymns  now  begin  to 
appear.  In  this  later  mediaeval  period,  too,  we 
mark  for  the  first  time  a  type  of  hymn  which 
has  too  often  since  then  re-appeared,  and  some- 
times in  forms  peculiarly  shocking  and  profane. 
Secular  and  love  songs  were,  by  slight  changes, 
appropriated  to  religious  uses,  carrying  the 
original  melody  with  them  into  the  service  of 
religion. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  Church  of  the 
Reformation  to  show  the  true  office  of  the 
hymn  and  to  illustrate  its  character.  As  the 
warmth  of  spring  releases  the  streams  from 
their  icy  fetters,  and  calls  back  again  their  rip- 
pling melodies,  so  did  the  light  and  warmth 
of  the  Reformation  era  bring  back  into  the 
homes  and  hearts  of  the  people  their  long-lost 
music.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  sudden  and 
extraordinary  multiplication  of  hymns,  and  the 
great  variety  of  uses  to  which  they  were  ap- 
propriated. When  Luther  arose  there  were 
not,  so  far  as  can  now  be  told,  more  than  one 
thousand  hymns  in  the  entire  Church  ;  now 
there  are  more  than  one  hundred  thousand. 
Then  the  hymn  was  something  grand,  formal, 


78  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

artistic,  suited  for  liturgical  use,  the  peculiar  and 
exclusive  property  of  the  priest,  the  choir,  and 
the  temple;  now  the  Church  is  beginning  to 
learn  that  the  whole  universe  is  set  to  music  ; 
that  the  echoes  of  the  "  morning  stars "  are 
always  resounding  in  our  air ;  that  wherever 
there  is  a  worshiper  there  may  be,  and  ought 
to  be,  a  hymn.  As  the  earliest  Christian  hymn 
whose  author  can  be  identified  is  suited  es- 
pecially to  childhood  and  the  life  of  the  home  ; 
as  the  "  Magnificat  "  and  the  "  Nunc  Dimit- 
tis  "  were  primarily  private  and  personal  rather 
than  public  and  liturgical ;  as  the  psalms  of 
the  Jews  touch  upon  all  conditions  of  their  life, 
many  of  them  seeming  to  be  for  the  household 
or  the  individual  rather  than  the  great  assem- 
bly, so  again  hymns  became  the  liturgy  of  the 
people,  and  the  words  of  joyous,  holy  song 
shook  the  world. 

Martin  Luther  was  so  passionately  fond  of 
music  that  it  used  to  be  said  of  him  that  his 
soul  could  find  its  fullest  expression  only 
through  his  flute  amid  tears.  "  Music,"  said 
he,  "  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  noble 
gifts  of  God.     It  is  the  best  solace  to  a  man  in 


HYMNS  FROM    GERMAN   AUTHORS.  79 

sorrow  ;  it  quiets,  quickens,  and  refreshes  the 
heart.  I  give  music  the  next  place  and  the 
highest  honor  after  theology."  A  similar  tes- 
timony he  bears  also  to  poetry,  confessing  that 
he  has  been  "  more  influenced  and  delighted 
by  poetry  than  by  the  most  eloquent  oration 
of  Cicero  or  Demosthenes/'  His  enemies 
said  of  him  that  he  did  more  harm  by  his 
hymns  than  by  his  sermons ;  and  Coleridge 
says  "  he  did  as  much  for  the  Reformation  by 
his  hymns  as  by  his  translation  of  the  Bible.' ' 
Thirty-seven  of  Luther's  hymns  have  been 
preserved,  some  of  them  being  versions  of  the 
Hebrew  psalms,  others  versions  of  the  old 
Latin  hymns,  while  still  others  are  original 
both  as  to  form  and  subject-matter.  The 
earliest  of  these  is  believed  to  be  that  one  the 
English  version  of  which  commences, 

Flung  to  the  heedless  winds,27 
which  was  called  forth  by  the  martyrdom  of 
two  young  Christian  monks,  who  were  burnt 
alive  at  Brussels.  Interpreted  by  such  an 
event,  it  is  a  sublime  and  characteristic  testi- 
mony to  the  same  faith  which  is  so  resplen- 
dent in  Luther's  entire  history.     But  his  great 


80  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

hymn,  and  perhaps,  taken  all  in  all,  his  most 
characteristic  production,  is  that  commencing 
"  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott  " — "  A  strong 
tower  is  our  God."  Rough  and  rugged,  full 
of  strength,  but  with  little  beauty,  it  is  emi- 
nently worthy  of  him  whose  very  words  were 
half  battles.  It  was  composed  at  the  time 
when  the  evangelical  princes  delivered  their 
protest  at  the  second  Diet  of  Spires,  in  1529, 
from  which  event  the  name  "  Protestant  "  had 
its  origin.  The  hymn  at  once  became  one  of 
the  watchwords  of  the  Reformation,  as  it  has 
since  come  to  be  regarded  the  national  hymn 
of  Germany.  After  Luther's  death,  one  day 
Melanchthon  was  at  Weimar,  with  his  banished 
friends  Jonas  and  Creuziger,  and  heard  a  little 
girl  singing  this  hymn  in  the  street.  "  Sing 
on,  my  little  maid,"  said  he  ;  "  you  little  know 
what  famous  people  you  comfort." 

One  of  the  very  best  of  the  many  English 
versions  of  this  hymn  is  that  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Hedge,  commencing 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God.28 

Even  more  characteristic  is  Carlyle's  version : 

A  safe  stronghold  our  God  is  still. 


HYMNS    FROM    GERMAN   AUTHORS.  8 1 

This  hymn  has  had  a  notable  history.  As  its 
origin  was  coincident  with  the  Protestant 
name,  so  it  has  ever  been  regarded  as  one  of 
the  great  representative  hymns  of  the  Protest- 
ant Church.  It  was  sung  by  that  noble  Chris- 
tian hero  Gustavus  Adolphus  on  the  morning 
of  the  day  on  which  he  sealed  his  fidelity  to 
God  with  his  blood. 

The  hymn  of  Gustavus  Adolphus29  is,  in 
many  regards,  more  perfect  and  better  suited 
for  ordinary  use  than  that  of  Luther.  It  seems 
to  have  come  from  the  royal  author  whose 
name  it  bears,  but  in  what  precise  form  can- 
not now  be  determined.  It  has,  however, 
been  conjectured  that  the  substance  of  it,  and 
perhaps  much  of  the  language,  was  written  by 
Gustavus,  and  that  his  chaplain,  Fabricius, 
threw  it  into  its  perfect  metrical  form  ;  but  it 
cannot  now  be  determined  whether  the  origi- 
nal was  in  Swedish  or  German,  though,  as 
representing  the  king  himself,  the  former  would 
seem  to  have  special  interest.  There  are  few 
better  hymns  of  Christian  trust  and  courage 
than  this.  A  community  in  our  own  land,  on 
that  terrible   Monday  when  we  learned  of  the 


82  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

disastrous  defeat  at  Bull  Run,  found  in  this 
old  battle-hymn  words  adapted  to  the  trying 
emergency  : 

"  Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe 
Who  madly  seeks  your  overthrow; 
Dread  not  his  rage  and  power; 
What  though  your  courage  sometimes  faints? 
This  seeming  triumph  o'er  God's  saints 
Lasts  but  a  little  hour." 

The  Hussite  movement  was  represented  in 
the  fifteenth  century  by  the  "  Bohemian 
Brethren, "  and  among  these  Christians,  even 
before  Luther  arose,  a  very  considerable  psalm- 
ody was  developed.  This  was  one  important 
source  of  the  hymnody  of  the  Lutherans. 
Both  in  doctrine  and  life  the  Church  of  the 
Reformation  was  not  a  little  indebted  to  such 
"  reformers  before  the  Reformation  "  as  Huss 
and  Jerome. 

Rev.  Michael  Weisse  (died  1540),  a  German 
minister  in  Bohemia,  translated  many  of  the 
Bohemian  hymns  and  added  some  of  his  own. 
The  first  line  of  the  hymn  by  which  he  is  rep- 
resented in  many  modern  collections  is, 
Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  again. 

Rev.  Bartholomew   Ringwaldt  was  born  at 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.    83 

Frankfort-on-the-Oder  in  1530,  spent  his  life 
as  a  Lutheran  pastor  at  Langfeld,  in  Prussia, 
and  died  in  1598.  Many  of  his  hymns  were 
born  of  the  sufferings  which  he  and  his  people 
endured  from  "  famine,  pestilence,  fire,  and 
floods."     The  hymn 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear? 

was  suggested  by  that  greatest  of  hymns  the 
"  Dies  Irae."  It  has  marked  power,  though  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  meter  of  the  En- 
glish version  is  not  well  suited  to  the  dignity 
and  solemnity  of  the  theme. 

Contemporary  with  Ringwaldt  was  the 
Rev.  Martin  Boehme  (Behemb)  (1 537-1621), 
author  of  the  very  beautiful  and  comprehensive 
hymn  wThich  Miss  Winkworth  has  translated, 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my  life,  my  light/' 

Rev.  George  Weiszel  (1 590-1635),  the  author 
of  the  hymn  translated  by  Miss  Winkworth, 
"  Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  mighty  gates,"  was 
born  at  Donnau,  in  Prussia,  and  spent  the  last 
year  of  his  life  as  pastor  at  Konigsberg.  The 
hymn  above  mentioned  exhibits  rare  felicity 
in  lyric  expression,  and  we  are  well  prepared 
to  believe  that  his  influence  may  be  traced  in 


84  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

the  more  numerous  hymns  of  his  junior  con- 
temporary in  Konigsberg,  Professor  Simon 
Bach  (died  1658),  who  composed  one  hundred 
and  fifty  hymns  and  religious  poems. 

What  Luther  was  among  the  singers  of  the 
Reformation  era  such  was  Paul  Gerhardt  (1606- 
1670)  in  the  period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 
Indeed,  as  a  writer  of  hymns  he  decidedly  out- 
ranks his  great  master  and  leader.  Luther  is 
represented  in  the  world  of  song  by  thirty- 
seven  hymns.  But  very  few  of  these  are  now 
used,  especially  outside  of  Germany.  Ger- 
hardt is  represented  by  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  hymns,  some  of  which  are  among 
the  most  spiritual  and  most  ecumenical  of 
modern  hymns.  Some  of  the  choicest  hymns 
of  John  Wesley  are  translated  from  this  older 
master,  who,  in  a  higher  sense  than  Wesley, 
"  learned  by  suffering  what  he  taught  in  song/' 
Among  the  hymns  in  common  use  are: 

O  sacred  head  now  wounded. 
Extended  on  a  cursed  tree. 
Here  I  can  firmly  rest. 
Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me. 


HYMNS    FROM    GERMAN    AUTHORS.  85 

Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs. 
Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears. 

Gerhardt  has  been  called  "  the  prince  of 
German  hymn-writers/'  His  hymns  have  pen- 
etrated all  ranks  of  society,  and  into  the  com- 
pany of  all  classes  of  worshipers,  and  are  emi- 
nently songs  of  the  heart.  The  mother  of  the 
eminent  German  poet  Schiller  taught  them 
to  her  child,  and  some  of  them  continued  to 
be  favorites  with  him  during  his  life.  Doubt- 
less these  hymns  must  be  recognized  as  one 
factor,  and  it  may  be  a  very  important  factor, 
in  the  education  of  him  who  has  been  pro- 
nounced, next  to  Goethe,  the  greatest  poet  of 
Germany. 

The  excellent  hymn-version  of  the  Creed, 

We  all  believe  in  one  true  God, 

one  of  the  most  perfect  compositions  of  the 
kind  ever  written,  and  specially  suited  for  use 
on  sacramental  occasions  and  fellowship  and 
covenant  meetings,  was  written  by  Rev.  To- 
biah  Clausnitzer  (1619-1684).  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Leipsic,  was  sometime  chaplain  of 
the  Swedish  forces  during  the  "  Thirty  Years' 


86  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

War/'  and  was  finally  settled  as  pastor  in  the 
Palatinate. 

Few  hymn-writers  of  the  eighteenth  cent- 
ury stand  so  eminent  as  scholar,  preacher, 
and  poet  as  Johann  Andreas  Rothe  (1688- 
1758).  For  many  years  he  was  intimately  as- 
sociated with  the  famous  Count  Zinzendorf, 
and  pastor  at  the  scarcely  less  celebrated 
Herrnhut.  He  wrote  a  learned  work  on  the 
Hebrew  Bible.  To  his  power  as  a  preacher 
Count  Zinzendorf  bears  most  emphatic  testi- 
mony :  "  The  talents  of  Luther,  Spener, 
Francke,  and  Schwedler  were  united  in  him/' 
Some  of  the  count's  hymns  were  dedicated 
to  him,  and  he  dedicated  to  the  count  his  own 
best-known  hymn — 

Now  I  have  found  the  ground  wherein. 
This  hymn  is  specially  dear  to  Methodists,  not 
only  because  of  its  superior  merit,  but  also 
because  of  the  wealth  of  associations  which 
cluster  about  it.  It  represents  the  Moravians, 
who,  under  God,  were  instrumental  in  bring- 
ing the  Wesleys  into  spiritual  life  and  liberty. 
It  was  translated  by  John  Wesley,  whose  best 
work  in  hymnology  consisted  in  bringing  the 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.    87 

precious  spiritual  hymns  of  the  Germans  into 
the  English  language,  thus  making  them  ac- 
cessible to  the  multitudes  of  which  he  be- 
came the  spiritual  leader.  Almost  the  last 
words  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  Madeley,  were  two 
lines  from  the  second  verse  of  this  hymn  : 

14  While  Jesu's  blood,  through  earth  and  skies, 
Mercy — free,  boundless  mercy — cries." 

Few  hymns  in  any  language  are  so  full  of 
devout  and  tender  expression  as  those  of  Ben- 
jamin Schmolke  (1672-1737).  His  father  was 
a  clergyman.  Benevolent  friends  assisted  him 
to  enter  upon  his  studies  in  the  University  of 
Leipsic,  but  he  was  soon  able  to  do  some- 
thing toward  defraying  his  own  expenses  by 
publishing  some  of  his  earlier  poems.  The 
whole  number  of  hymns  written  by  him  was 
more  than  one  thousand.  As  Rist  said  of 
himself,  so  might  Schmolke  say:  "The  dear 
cross  has  pressed  many  songs  out  of  me." 
He  was  the  subject  of  severe  and  extraordi- 
nary personal  afflictions.  A  destructive  con- 
flagration, which  destroyed  half  the  town  in 
which  he  lived,  involving  the  people  in  great 
suffering,   the   loss  of  two  of  his  children   by 


88  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

death,  his  own  hopeless  invalidism  by  paral- 
ysis, and  finally  his  total  blindness  from  the 
same  cause,  were  the  dark  background  with 
which  contrasts  the  radiant  glory  of  such 
words  of  resignation  and  trust  as 

"  My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt  ! 

0  may  thy  will  be  mine  ! 
Into  thy  hand  of  love 

1  would  my  all  resign. 
Through  sorrow,  or  through  joy, 

Conduct  me  as  thine  own, 
And  help  me  still  to  say, 

My  Lord,  thy  will  be  done." 

The  best  known  hymns  of  Schmolke  are : 
Welcome,  thou  Victor  in  the  strife. 
My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt. 

The  great  poet  in  the  Mystical  School  in 
German  hymnology  was  Gerhard  Tersteegen 
(1697-1761).  From  Catherine  Winkworth's 
Christian  Singers  of  Germany  we  condense 
the  following  account  of  this  most  remarkable 
and  interesting  man.  He  was  the  son  of  a 
respectable  tradesman,  and  after  such  educa- 
tion as  he  could  get  at  the  grammar-school 
of  his  native  place,  was  apprenticed  to  his 
elder    brother,    a    shopkeeper    at     Muelheim. 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.    89 

Here,  under  the  influence  of  a  tradesman,  he 
was  converted,  and  was  led  to  devote  himself 
to  the  service  of  God.  As  his  days  were  oc- 
cupied, he  used  sometimes  to  pass  whole  nights 
in  prayer  and  fasting.  That  he  might  have 
more  freedom  for  spiritual  exercises,  he  left 
his  brother,  and  took  up  the  ^occupation  of 
weaving  silk  ribbons,  living  for  some  years  en- 
tirely alone  in  a  cottage,  except  that  in  the 
day-time  he  had  the  company  of  the  little  girl 
who  wound  his  silk  for  him.  His  relations — 
who  seem  to  have  been  a  thriving  and  money- 
getting  set  of  people — were  so  ashamed  of  this 
poor  and  peculiar  member  of  the  family  that 
they  refused  even  to  hear  his  name  mentioned, 
and  when  he  was  sick  he  suffered  great  priva- 
tions for  want  of  care. 

His  spiritual  experiences  were  at  first  marked 
by  violent  contrasts.  Upon  the  peace  and 
comfort  of  his  early  Christian  life  a  season  of 
darkness  supervened,  and  for  five  years  he  was 
the  subject  of  extreme  and  painful  doubts. 
From  this  fearful  dungeon  in  "  Doubting  Cas- 
tle "  he  was  suddenly  and  gloriously  delivered, 
and  in  his  gratitude  wrote  with  his  own  blood 


90  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

a  new  covenant  of  self-dedication.  He  began 
at  once  to  devote  himself  to  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  those  about  him.  Soon  he  found  him- 
self entirely  occupied  with  a  sort  of  unofficial 
ministry,  which  speedily  took  permanent  form 
and  became  his  life-work.  Peremptorily  de- 
clining all  pecuniary  assistance,  he  opened  a 
dispensary  for  his  support,  making  it  a  means 
of  ministering  to  the  souls  as  well  as  the 
bodies  of  men.  So  famous  did  he  become  in 
this  double  ministry  that  people  came  to  him 
from  other  lands — England,  Holland,  Sweden, 
and  Switzerland — so  that  he  found  his  strength 
and  resources  taxed  to  their  utmost.  But 
amid  it  all  he  maintained  an  unvarying  humil- 
ity, affectionateness,  devoutness,  and  simplicity. 
From  such  a  life  none  but  the  most  spiritual 
hymns  could  come,  and  Tersteegen's  are  high- 
ly and  justly  prized.     Among  them  are  : 

Lo !  God  is  here  !     Let  us  adore. 
God  calling  yet !     Shall  I  not  hear  ? 
Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  height. 
O  Thou  to  whose  all-searching  sight. 
Though  all  the  world  my  choice  deride. 


HYMNS    FROM    GERMAN   AUTHORS.         91 

Two  famous  Moravians,  both  bishops,  made 
very  material  contributions  to  the  hymnology 
of  this  period — Count  Zinzendorf  and  Bishop 
Spangenberg.  The  history  of  Nicolaus  Lud- 
wig  Zinzendorf  (1 700-1 760)  is  too  well  known 
to  require  any  sketch  of  it  here.  In  an  emi- 
nent sense  he  stands  in  church  history  and  in 
hymnology  as  a  representative  Moravian,  hav- 
ing renounced  his  civil  honors  and  cares  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  religious  work  of  the  Mo- 
ravian Brethren.  The  hymns30  by  which  he  is 
best  known  are  all  in  versions  made  by  John 
Wesley  : 

Eternal  depth  of  love  divine. 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness. 

I  thirst,  thou  wounded  Lamb  of  God. 

The  last  of  these  is  very  familiar  and  very 
precious  to  all  who  look  to  Wesley  as  their 
spiritual  father.  The  second  was  written  on 
the  island  of  Saint  Eustatius  on  his  return 
from  visiting  the  Moravian  missionaries  in  the 
West  Indies. 

Bishop  Aug.  Gottlieb  Spangenberg  (1704- 
1792)  is  second  only  to  Count  Zinzendorf  him- 


92  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

self  in  the  history  of  the  Moravian  Church, 
and  was  greatly  his  superior  in  theological  cult- 
ure. In  1735  he  became  an  assistant  of  Zin- 
zendorf  at  Herrnhut,  and  acted  as  a  kind  of 
missionary  bishop  to  the  Moravian  churches 
in  England,  the  West  Indies,  and  North 
America.  In  Georgia  he  came  in  contact  with 
John  Wesley,  who  had  gone  out  with  Ogle- 
thorpe as  a  missionary  to  the  Aborigines. 
The  meeting  was  a  most  memorable  one  for 
Wesley,  and  was  one  important  means  of 
bringing  him  to  a  realizing  sense  of  his  great 
want. 

This  good  bishop  is  represented  in  English 
hymnology  by  John  Wesley's  version  of  one 
of  his  very  choicest  hymns,  such  as  indeed  a 
bishop  might  write  : 

High  on  his  everlasting  throne. 


EARLIER    ENGLISH    HYMNS.  93 


CHAPTER    VI. 
EARLIER    ENGLISH    HYMNS. 

TN  many  important  particulars  English  hymns 
are  distinguished  from  those  of  every  other 
language.  Many  of  them  are  translations  of 
the  best  and  most  famous  hymns  of  other 
tongues.  Nearly  all  the  great  hymns  of  the 
mediaeval  time  are  represented  by  English  ver- 
sions. This  is  true  also  of  the  most  cherished 
and  most  spiritual  of  the  French  and  German 
hymns.  The  great  body  of  English  hymns 
have  been  produced  in  the  modern  period  of 
church  history,  and  hence  reflect  the  most  re- 
cent phases  of  church  life  and  work.  As  among 
English-speaking  peoples  evangelical  move- 
ments have  taken  a  greater  variety  of  form, 
and  have  incorporated  more  various  methods 
than  have  been  employed  elsewhere,  so  here 
the  hymn  has  been  appropriated  to  a  greater 
variety  of  uses.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary 
demands  of  public  worship  and  the  necessities 
of  the  individual  life,  which,  though  they  do  not 


94  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

essentially  change,  are  yet  all  the  time  becom- 
ing more  perfectly  interpreted  and  more  ade- 
quately expressed,  there  are  many  institutions 
which  have  been  called  into  existence  by  the 
life  of  the  Church  in  this  period.  The  modern 
prayer-meeting,  revival  meetings,  conferences, 
conventions,  synods,  Sabbath-schools,  and  re- 
form movements  have  all  created  a  demand 
for  a  special  type  of  religious  service.  Hence, 
in  no  other  language  is  there  so  great  a  variety 
of  hymns  ;  in  no  other  has  the  hymn  been 
more  perverted  and  degraded  from  its  proper 
character,  and  in  no  other  is  the  vast  and  va- 
ried wealth  of  hymnology  more  fully  exhibited. 
The  oldest  English  hymn  now  in  common 
use — "  The  Lord  descended  from  above  "  31 — 
is  a  translation  of  some  verses  of  the  eight- 
eenth psalm,  made  by  Thomas  Sternhold,  who 
died  in  1549.  He  was  "  Groom  of  the  Robes  " 
to  Henry  VIII.  and  Edward  VI.  He  made  a 
metrical  version  of  the  first  fifty-one  psalms, 
which,  with  versions  of  the  remainder  made  by 
John  Hopkins,  were  attached  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer.  As  to  the  character  of  these 
men,  as   shown   by   this  work,    doubtless   the 


EARLIER    ENGLISH    HYMNS.  95 

judgment  of  quaint  old  Thomas  Fuller  will  be 
generally  approved  :  "  They  were  men  whose 
piety  was  better  than  their  poetry ;  and  they 
had  drunk  more  of  Jordan  than  of  Helicon." 
And  yet  the  psalm  above  cited  fully  vindicates 
by  its  own  intrinsic  excellence  the  taste  and 
judgment  of  those  who  have  so  long  kept  it  in 
its  seat  of  honor. 

With  this  should  be  associated  that  transla- 
tion of  the  one  hundredth  psalm  made  by 
William  Kethe : 

All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell.32 
Of  its  author  we  know  almost  nothing,  not 
even  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death.  He 
was  a  clergyman,  was  sometime  a  chaplain  in 
the  army,  and  shared  the  exile  of  Knox,  in 
Geneva,  in  1555.  The  psalm  was  first  pub- 
lished in  1 561,  and  is  not  only  one  of  the  old- 
est, but  also  one  of  the  most  ecumenical  of 
English  hymns. 

The  name  of  Bishop  John  Cosin  (1 594-1672) 
is  deserving  of  most  honorable  mention,  be- 
cause of  his  translation  of  the  "  Veni,  Creator 
Spiritus  " — "  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  in- 
spire."    Few  men  of  his  time  held  a  greater 


g6  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

variety  of  distinguished  positions  or  received 
more  flattering  testimonials  of  personal  popu- 
larity and  influence.  Though  made  to  feel  the 
virulent  opposition  of  his  Puritan  enemies, 
and  to  suffer  from  their  unjust  charges  of 
leaning  toward  popery,  yet  he  stands  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  fully  vindicated,  and  a 
noble  example  of  a  man  true  to  the  Church, 
and  true  also  to  his  own  convictions.  He  ex- 
pended his  emoluments  and  the  profits  arising 
from  the  sale  of  his  works  liberally  for  the 
cause  of  learning  and  religion,  founding  no  less 
than  eight  scholarships  at  Cambridge.  His  one 
hymn  has  a  higher  place  of  honor  than  any 
other  in  our  language,  having  for  two  centuries 
and  a  half  maintained  its  place  in  the  service 
for  the  ordination  of  elders.  It  is  a  most  sat- 
isfactory instance  of  "  poetic  justice/'  in  a  sense 
much  fuller  and  more  perfect  than  that  in  which 
the  phrase  is  ordinarily  used,  that  the  hymn 
of  Gregory,  who  taught  Britain  her  first  lesson 
in  practical  Christianity,  should  be  the  only 
one  which  has  been  given  a  place  in  the  ritual 
of  the  English  Church. 

Another  bishop  whose  hymns  have  come  to 


EARLIER   ENGLISH    HYMNS.  97 

almost  equal  honor,  and  in  some  regards  even 
superior,  is  Thomas  Ken  (1637- 1 711).  Early 
left  an  orphan — his  mother  dying  when  he  was 
but  five  and  his  father  when  he  was  fourteen — 
he  was  brought  up  by  his  half-sister,  the  wife 
of  the  celebrated  Izaak  Walton.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Oxford  ;  was  first  rector  of  Bright- 
stone,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  afterward 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells.  King  Charles  used 
to  say:  "  I  must  go  and  hear  Ken — he  will  tell 
me  of  my  faults."  He  wras  one  of  the  seven 
bishops  imprisoned  and  brought  to  trial  for  re- 
sisting the  tyranny  of  James  II.  His  most 
enduring  monument  is  his  "  Morning  and  Ev- 
ening Hymns."  Says  one  writer:  "  Had  he 
endowed  three  hospitals  he  would  have  been 
less  a  benefactor  to  posterity."  His  grand 
old  doxology  in  long  meter  is  heard  wherever 
the  English  language  is  spoken.  It  is  almost 
as  catholic  as  the  English  Bible  itself.  The 
following  hymns  are  his : 

Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night. 
Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun. 
Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 


98  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Though  the  name  of  Nahum  Tate  (1652- 
171 5)  is  eminent  in  English  hymnology,  yet 
the  associations  connected  with  it  are  not  all 
grateful.  His  active  life  commenced  as  clergy- 
man of  a  country  parish  in  Suffolk,  from  which 
he  subsequently  removed  to  London.  But  in- 
temperance and  improvidence  cast  a  blight 
over  his  life  and  a  shadow  upon  his  memory. 
In  connection  with  Nicholas  Brady  he  pre- 
pared the  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms 
which  is  now  printed  in  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  place  of  the  older  one  of  Sternhold 
and  Hopkins,  which  version  Montgomery 
justly  characterizes  as  being  "  nearly  as  inani- 
mate as  the  former,  though  a  little  more 
refined. "  Nicholas  Brady  (1659-1726),  his 
associate  in  this  work,  studied  at  Christ  College, 
Oxford,  and  was  graduated  at  Trinity  College, 
Dublin.  He  was  afterward  chaplain  to  a 
bishop  and  prebend  to  the  Cathedral  of  Cork, 
and  later  in  life  taught  a  school  in  Richmond, 
Surrey. 

The  Psalter  of  Tate  and  Brady  wras  first  pub- 
lished in  1696,  with  tunes  in  1698,  and  with  a 
supplement    of  hymns    in    1703.      From    this 


EARLIER   ENGLISH    HYMNS.  99 

work  several  hymns  in  common  use  have  been 
taken,  though  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
which  were  written  by  Tate  and  which  by 
Brady.     Among  them  are  the  following: 

O  render  thanks  to  God  above. 

O  God,  we  praise  thee,  and  confess. 

While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night. 

As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  streams. 

O  Lord,  our  fathers  oft  have  told. 

Even  at  this  day  the  thoughtful  student  can 
hardly  take  into  his  hands  a  book  more  suggest- 
ive or  more  stimulating  than  Mason's  Self- 
Knowledge,  In  depth,  solidity,  clearness,  and 
comprehensiveness  it  has  few  equals  in  our 
language.  The  young  person  who  makes  it 
the  subject  of  constant  and  loving  study  is  sure 
to  be  richly  rewarded.  John  Mason,  the  hymn- 
writer  (died  1694),  was  grandfather  of  the  John 
Mason  who  was  the  author  of  this  treatise. 
Little  is  known  of  his  life,  save  that  for  twenty 
years  he  was  rector  of  a  parish  in  Buckingham- 
shire, where  he  was  very  highly  esteemed  for 
his  piety  and  his  devotion  to  his  flock.  Baxter 
called  him  "  the  glory  of  the  Church  of  En- 


IOO  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

gland.' '  In  1683  he  published  his  Spiritual 
Songs,  to  which  were  afterward  added  Peniten- 
tial Cries,  mainly  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Shepherd.  Many  traces  of  these  hymns  of 
Mason  are  found  in  the  later  works  of  Watts, 
Pope,  and  the  Wesleys.  Of  the  one  hymn  of 
his  which  is  most  used,  David  Creamer  says 
that  it  is  "  certainly  one  of  the  best  specimens 
of  devotional  poetry  in  the  English  language/' 
The  hymn  is : 

Now  from  the  altar  of  our  hearts. 

One  hymn  from  the  Penitential  Cries  of 
Thomas  Shepherd  (1665— 1739)  has  been  pre- 
served in  most  of  our  modern  hymn-books, 
though  in  a  form  so  much  changed  from  the 
original  as  almost  to  destroy  its  identity. 
Indeed,  in  most  books  the  hymn  is  credited  to 
Mr.  G.  N.  Allen,  who  made  the  alterations, 
rather  than  to  Mr.  Shepherd,  the  original 
author.     It  begins — 

Must  Jesus  bear  the  cross  alone  ?  33 

The  earliest  of  the  considerable  number  of 
Baptists   who  have  been  eminent  as   English 


EARLIER   ENGLISH    HYMNS.  101 

hymn-writers  is  Joseph  Stennett  (1663-1713), 
who  spent  his  life  as  pastor  of  a  small  congre- 
gation of  Seventh-day  Baptists  in  the  city  of 
London.  He  was  also  accustomed  to  preach 
to  other  congregations  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  which  makes  it  pretty  certain  that  his 
sympathy  with  his  people  was  as  Baptists 
rather  than  as  Sabbatarians.  In  addition  to  his 
duties  as  pastor  he  also,  for  some  years, 
received  young  men  into  his  house  to  be 
trained  for  the  ministry.  He  died  in  his  forty- 
ninth  year,  and  among  his  last  words  were  :  "  I 
rejoice  in  the  God  of  my  salvation,  who  is  my 
strength  and  my  God."  He  published  two 
small  collections  of  original  hymns — Hymns  for 
the  Lord" s  Supper  and  Hymns  on  the  Believer  s 
Baptism.     His  familiar  hymn, 

Return,  my  soul,  enjoy  thy  rest, 

is  one  of  the  most  frequently  used  of  our  Sab- 
bath hymns. 

There  is  one  English  hymn,  dating  probably 
from  the  sixteenth  century,  whose  history  is 
specially  interesting.  It  comes  from  an  old 
Latin  hymn  which  Dean  Trench  assigns  to  the 


102  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

eighth  or  ninth  century.  We  refer  to  that 
dearest  of  all  our  hymns  on  heaven, 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home.  34 

In  a  very  old  book  of  religious  songs  now  kept 
in  the  British  Museum  it  stands  with  this  title  : 
"  A  Song,  Made  by  F.  B.  P.,  to  the  Tune  of 
Diana."  It  has  been  conjectured — doubtfully 
by  most,  but  confidently  by  some — that  "  F.  B. 
P."  is  an  alias  for  Francis  Baker,  Priest,  who 
was  for  a  long  time  confined  as  a  prisoner  in 
the  Tower,  so  that  this  is  one  of  the  many 
hymns  which  have  come  up  out  of  the  depth 
of  suffering  and  bitter  wrong.  A  later  and 
more  beautiful  form  of  this  hymn — "  O  mother 
dear,  Jerusalem  " — was  given  to  the  public  by 
David  Dickson  in  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

The  hymn  as  it  appears  in  our  modern 
hymn-books  is  considerably  altered  from  the 
text  as  found  in  the  book  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum. It  is  called  by  Miller  "  the  hymn  of 
hymns,"  and  certainly  holds  a  very  warm  place 
in  the  hearts  of  Christian  worshipers  in  every 
communion.       A     young    Scotchman    on    his 


EARLIER   ENGLISH   HYMNS.  103 

death-bed  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  several 
years  ago  was  visited  by  a  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter. He  continued  to  shut  himself  up  from  the 
good  man's  efforts  to  reach  his  heart.  Some- 
what discouraged,  at  last  the  visitor  turned 
away,  and  scarcely  knowing  why,  began  to 
sing,  "  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home."  A  tender 
chord  was  touched  in  the  heart  of  the  young 
man.  With  tears  he  exclaimed  :  "  My  dear 
mother  used  to  sing  that  hymn  !  "  The  tender 
memories  awakened  by  the  hymn  opened  his 
heart  to  religious  truth.  He  was  led  through 
penitence  into  peace,  and  thus  was  made  ready 
for  the  "  happy  home  "  whither  his  mother  had 
already  preceded  him. 


104  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WATTS   AND    WESLEY. 

TSAAC  WATTS  (1674-1748)  is  pronounced 
by  Montgomery  the  "  father  of  modern 
hymnody  " — "almost  the  inventor  of  hymns 
in  our  language/'  He  was  son  of  a  school- 
master, and  deacon  of  an  Independent  church 
in  Southampton,  England,  a  locality  which  is 
embalmed  in  the  imagery  of  some  of  his 
hymns.  So  precocious  in  intellect  was  he 
that  almost  his  earliest  cry  was  for  a  book  ; 
and  he  actually  commenced  the  study  of  Latin 
at  four,  of  Greek  at  nine,  of  French  at  ten, 
and  of  Hebrew  at  fourteen,  and  this  intellect- 
ual activity  was  continued  through  a  long  and 
most  fruitful  life.  Says  Dr.  Johnson  :  "  Few 
men  have  left  behind  such  purity  of  character 
or  such  monuments  of  laborious  piety.  He 
has  provided  instruction  for  all  ages,  from 
those  who  are  lisping  their  first  lessons  to 
the  enlightened  readers  of  Malebranche  and 
Locke.,,     And  the  judgment  of  this  extraordi- 


WATTS  AND  WESLEY.  105 

nary  critic  in  the  matter  of  hymns  is  sufficiently 
indicated  by  such  sentences  as  the  following  : 
"  It  is  sufficient  for  Watts  to  have  done  better 
than  others  what  no  one  has  done  well."  "  His 
devotional  poetry  is,  like  that' of  others,  un- 
satisfactory. The  paucity  of  its  topics  enforces 
perpetual  repetition,  and  the  sanctity  of  the 
matter  rejects  the  ornaments  of  figurative  dic- 
tion." 

Only  as  a  writer  of  hymns  is  the  fame  of  Dr. 
Watts  pre-eminent.  When,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  on  a  certain  Sabbath,  he  was  com- 
plaining to  one  of  his  fellow-worshipers  at  the 
Independent  chapel  where  his  father  was  dea- 
con of  the  character  of  the  hymns  sung  there, 
the  reply  was  :  "  Give  us  better,  young  man." 
He  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  church 
was  invited  to  close  the  evening  service  with 
a  new  hymn  commencing: 

"  Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb 

Before  his  Father's  throne; 
Prepare  new  honors  for  his  name, 

And  songs  before  unknown"35 — 

a  hymn  which  is  retained  in  many  of  our  hymn- 
books,  and  is  still  sung  with  reverence  and  de- 


106  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

light.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  most  il- 
lustrious career  as  a  hymn-writer  which,  with 
not  more  than  a  single  exception,  it  has  ever 
been  given  to  mortal  to  fulfill.  The  author  of 
that  first  hymn  has  made  more  material  con- 
tributions to  the  apparatus  of  Christian  wor- 
ship in  the  English  tongue  than  any  other 
man,  and  his  hymns  are  familiar  and  precious 
wherever  that  language  is  spoken.  Less  pro- 
lific and  less  versatile  than  some  others,  espe- 
cially than  Charles  Wesley,  with  whom  he  is 
most  frequently  compared,  with  less  of  poetic 
genius  and  less  of  spiritual  fervor  and  joy,  his 
hymns  are  so  devout,  so  scriptural,  so  catholic, 
and  so  simple,  and,  in  the  main,  so  correct  in 
diction  and  in  sentiment,  that  they  meet  a 
general  want  more  perfectly  than  any  other. 
Though  Wesley  wrote  seven  or  eight  thousand 
hymns,  and  Watts  only  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven,  yet  it  is  probable  that  more  of  Watts's 
hymns  are  in  common  use  than  of  Wesley's. 
A  recent  writer  says:  ''Judging  from  the  re- 
sults of  an  examination  of  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  hymn-books,  it  is  safe  to  assign  to  Watts 
the    authorship    of  two   fifths    of  the  hymns 


WATTS   AND    WESLEY.  10/ 

which  are  used"  in  public  worship  in  the  En- 
glish-speaking world."  In  the  Hymns  and 
Songs  of  Praise,  one  of  the  best  and  most 
broadly  representative  of  the  hymn-books  used 
by  the  Calvinistic  churches  of  this  country, 
Watts  is  represented  by  one  hundred  and 
ninety-one  hymns  and  Charles  Wesley  by 
ninety  nine;  while  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal 
Watts  has  but  seventy-eight  and  Wesley  three 
hundred  and  seven.  The  facts  as  to  actual 
use,  howTever,  may  be  considerably  different 
from  what  would  be  indicated  by  these  figures; 
and  we  need  but  to  glance  over  the  list  of 
Watts's  leading  hymns  to  be  convinced  that 
they  constitute  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
staple  hymns  for  public  religious  service. 
Among  the  most  eminent  of  these  are  such  as 
the  following : 

Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed. 
Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross? 
Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. 
Blest  are  the  sons  of  peace. 
Come,  sound  his  praise  abroad. 


108  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Come,  let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs. 
Come,  ye  that  love  the  Lord. 
Father,  how  wide  thy  glory  shines. 
From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies. 
Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise. 
He  dies  !  the  friend  of  sinners  dies. 
How  vain  are  all  things  here  below. 

How  beauteous  are  their  feet. 

I 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath. 
Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun. 
Let  every  tongue  thy  goodness  speak. 
My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys  ! 
O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 
The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord. 
There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight. 
Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb. 
When  I  can  read  my  title  clear. 
When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. 
Why  do  we  mourn  for  dying  friends  ? 
Why  should  we  start  and  fear  to  die  ? 


WATTS    AND    WESLEY.  IO9 

Some  of  these  hymns  are  in  a  special  sense 
autobiographic.  Nearly  all  of  them  bear  in  a 
marked  degree  the  stamp  of  the  poet's  per- 
sonal experience.  It  has  been  alleged  that  the 
hymn, 

How  vain  are  all  things  here  below, 

was  written   on  the   occasion  of  the  rejection 
of  his  offer  of  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Singer. 

To  the  character  of  the  scenery  about  South- 
ampton are  doubtless  due  some  of  the  most 
striking  and  beautiful  passages  of  his  hymns. 
It  is  situated  on  the  south  coast  of  England, 
at  the  head  of  Southampton  Water,  between 
the  Itchen  on  the  east  and  the  Anton  on  the 
west,  with  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  the  distance, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  This  island  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  main-land  by  an  interval  of 
from  one  to  six  miles,  and  serves  as  a  vast  nat- 
ural breakwater,  making  this  port  one  of  the 
safest  and  most  eligible  in  the  United  King- 
dom. The  scenery  of  the  island  is  of  remark- 
able beauty,  and  the  climate  so  salubrious  that 
in  one  part  the  death-rate  is  lower  than  in 
any  other  locality   in    the   United    Kingdom. 


110  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

The  tradition  is  that  these  conditions  furnished 
the  costume  of  expression  for  the  hymn, 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  language  is  such  as  ex- 
actly suits  them,  and  by  their  aid  we  feel  its 
force  and  beauty. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  imagery  of 
one  of  the  verses  of  another  hymn  may  have 
been  suggested  by  the  same  associations. 
Only  one  familar  with  the  sea  and  accustomed 
to  study  its  various  moods  would  have  been 
so  felicitous  in  seizing  upon  and  interpreting 
the  most  perfect  symbol  of  rest  which  nature 
contains — water  in  repose  : 

"  There  I  shall  bathe  my  weary  soul 

In  seas  of  heavenly  rest, 
And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  roll 

Across  my  peaceful  breast." 

The  hymn  in  which  this  verse  stands  has 
been  perhaps  as  often  used  as  any  of  his 
hymns.  It  was  sung  on  the  field  of  Shiloh, 
the  night  after  the  battle,  under  circumstances 
of  peculiar  impressiveness.  A  Christian  offi- 
cer had   been   severely   wounded,    and,   being 


WATTS    AND    WESLEY.  I  i  I 

unable  to  help  himself,  lay  all  night  on  the 
field.  Says  he:  "  The  stars  shone  out  clear 
above  the  dark  battle-field,  and  I  began  to 
think  about  God,  who  had  given  his  Son  to 
die  for  me,  and  that  he  was  up  above  the 
glorious  stars.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  praise 
him  even  while  wounded  on  that  battle-ground. 
I  could  not  help  singing: 

'  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 

To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
1*11  bid  farewell  to  every  fear, 

And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes.' 

There  was  a  Christian  brother  in  the  brush 
near  me.  I  could  not  see  him,  but  I  could 
hear  him.  He  took  up  the  strain.  Another, 
beyond  him,  heard  and  joined  in,  and  still 
others  too.  We  made  the  field  of  battle  ring 
with  the  hymn  of  praise  to  God." 

Many  volumes  might  be  filled  with  illustra- 
tive anecdotes  bearing  upon  the  use  of  some 
line,  stanza,  or  whole  hymn  even,  which  Watts 
has  written.  The  full  history  of  his  hymns,  if 
it  could  be  written,  would  be  a  great  part,  and 
a  very  interesting  part,  of  the  history  of  Prot- 
estant   Christianity    among    English-speaking 


112  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

peoples  for  the  last  hundred  years.  Scarcely 
another  couplet  in  the  entire  range  of  hymnol- 
ogy  has  been  so  often  quoted  in  the  great 
crisis-hour  of  individual  spiritual  history  as 

"  Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 
'Tis  all  that  I  can  do." 

Few  verses  appropriate  to  the  dying  hour  are 
so  often  quoted,  and  with  such  satisfying  ef- 
fect, as 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head, 

And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

And  how  often  have  the  lines  of  the  previous 
verse  been  the  experience  of  God's  children: 

"  O  would  my  Lord  his  servant  meet, 

My  soul  would  stretch  her  wings  in  haste  ! " 

Dr.  Doddridge  wrote  to  Watts  of  the  pow- 
erful effect  produced  by  the  singing  of  one  of 
his  hymns  in  his  own  congregation.  He  had 
preached  from  Heb.  vi,  12:  "  Followers  of 
them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit 
the  promises;"  and  at  the  close  of  the  ser- 
mon gave  out  the  hymn, 

"  Give  me  the  win^s  of  faith  to  rise." 


WATTS   AND    WESLEY.  I  13 

So  perfectly  suited  were  these  words  to  the 
matter  of  the  discourse,  and  so  tender  the  as- 
sociations awakened,  that  many  could  not  sing 
for  their  emotion,  and  many  sung  amid  tears. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  last  words 
which  fell  from  the  lips  of  John  Wesley  were 
written  by  Watts.  When  the  supreme  mo- 
ment came  he  was  struggling  to  repeat  that 
grand  hymn  of  gratitude  and  victory: 

"  I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers." 

This  hymn  Wesley  began  on  earth,  but  fin- 
ished it,  if  he  ever  finished  it  at  all,  "  before 
the  throne  of  God." 

Some  of  the  very  best  of  the  hymns  of  Watts 
owe  their  present  perfection  and  much  of  their 
usefulness  to  the  finishing  touches  of  John 
Wesley.  The  hymn  "  Before  Jehovah's  awful 
throne  "  is  an  instance  in  point.  As  at  first 
written  it  commenced  : 

"  Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice, 
Let  every  land  his  name  adore  ; 

The  British  isles  shall  scent  the  noise 
Across  the  ocean  to  the  shore. 


I  14  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

"  Nations  attend  before  his  throne, 

With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy,"  etc. 

Wesley  dropped  the  first  verse  altogether,  and 
changed  the  first  two  lines  of  the  second  to 
read : 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 
Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  joy  ;  " 

thus  making  a  suitable  beginning  for  a  hymn 
which  is  almost  unequaled  in  our  language  for 
strength  and  majesty. 

Many  of  the  hymns  of  Watts  are  a  part  of 
the  universal  language  of  English-speaking 
Christians,  and  are  almost  as  sure  to  be  known 
as  the  Bible  itself.  But  a  few  of  them  have 
been  selected  by  the  critics  as  entitled  to 
special  mention  because  of  their  rare  perfec- 
tion as  lyric  poems.  The  two  most  frequently 
mentioned  with  the  highest  praise  are : 

My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys. 
When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. 

As  examples  of  special  felicity  in  versifying 
the  Psalms  the  following  have  been  quoted : 

O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 

The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord. 


WATTS   AND    WESLEY.  I  I  5 

The  other  great  name  in  Christian  hym- 
nody  is  that  of  Charles  Wesley  (1708-1788). 
He  wrote  more  hymns — and,  we  will  add, 
more  good  hymns — than  any  other  ten  men 
who  have  written  hymns  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Watts  wrote  less  than  seven  hundred, 
Doddridge  less  than  four  hundred,  Mont- 
gomery less  than  two  hundred,  while  Charles 
Wesley  wrote  from  seven  to  eight  thousand! 
Of  course,  some  of  these  are  such  as  not 
even  his  most  ardent  admirers  can  find  much 
pleasure  in  reading,  but  others  exhibit  a 
wealth  and  beauty  of  lyrical  expression  truly 
marvelous.  A  prominent  actor  in  the  most 
important  evangelical  movement  since  the 
days  of  the  apostles,  his  hymns  have  the 
rare  merit  of  reflecting  every  significant 
phase  of  that  movement;  so  that  if  the 
question  be  asked  to-day,  What  is  Method- 
ism as  a  creed,  an  experience,  a  life?  a  more 
adequate  answer  can  be  found  in  these  hymns 
than  anywhere  else,  not  excepting  the  Ser- 
mons of  John  Wesley  or  the  Institutes  of 
Richard  Watson.  No  man  can  sing  them 
heartily  and   habitually,  "  with  the  spirit  and 


Il6  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

the  understanding  also,"  without  coming  to  a 
just  and  discriminating  sense  of  the  real  genius 
of  Methodism. 

In  unusual  measure  these  hymns  bear  the 
stamp  of  the  author's  personal  history  and  ex- 
perience. Even  his  letters  to  her  who  after- 
ward became  his  wife  were  often  written  in 
verse ;  and  when  we  remember  that  he  was  at 
this  time  a  clergyman,  forty  years  of  age,  and 
leading  a  most  active  and  laborious  life,  we 
shall  realize  how  absolutely  irrepressible  his 
poetic  proclivities  must  havq  been. 

The  Wesleyan  Hymn-book  of  Great  Britain 
contains  six  hundred  and  twenty-seven  of  his 
hymns,  and  many  others  are  met  with,  scat- 
tered through  the  various  hymnals  of  other 
denominations.  Robert  Southey  says  of  them 
that  they  have  been  "  more  devoutly  com- 
mitted to  memory  "  and  "  oftener  repeated  on 
a  death-bed  "  than  any  others.  But  life  is  a 
more  just  and  adequate  test  than  death,  and 
with  even  more  emphasis  may  it  be  said  that 
no  hymns  have  ministered  to  the  wants  of  the 
human  soul,  in  the  great  crisis  of  spiritual  his- 
tory, more  frequently  or  more  helpfully  than 


WATTS    AND    WESLEY.  I  17 

these.  We  hear  among  them  voices  for  all 
phases  and  grades  of  spiritual  experience,  and 
all  forms  of  Christian  work — awakening  con- 
viction, penitence,  pardon,  assurance;  rejoic- 
ing in  sins  forgiven,  in  communion  with  God, 
in  prospect  of  heaven  ;  the  closet,  the  family, 
the  church  ;  evangelistic  work,  charitable  work, 
reform  work,  every  thing  which  lies  between 
the  fearful  ruin  wrought  by  sin  and  the  glori- 
ous consummation  of  the  work  of  human  re- 
covery. Every  condition  in  life,  every  occu- 
pation, and  almost  every  event  is  here  repre- 
sented. Among  his  general  captions  we  find  : 
"  Hymns  for  Watch-Nights,"  "  New- Year's 
Day,"  "  The  Lord's  Supper,"  "The  Nativity 
of  Our  Lord,"  "  Our  Lord's  Resurrection," 
"  Hymns  Occasioned  by  the  Earthquake," 
"  Hymns  for  Times  of  Trouble  and  Persecu- 
tion," "  Hymns  for  Methodist  Preachers," 
"  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  Families,"  "  Hymns 
for  Children,"  "  Prayers  for  Condemned  Male- 
factors," "  Hymns  for  the  Nation,"  "  Funeral 
Hymns,"  etc.  Among  the  titles  of  individual 
hymns  are  such  as  these:  "For  a  Family  in 
Want,"  "To  be   Sung  at  Tea-table,"  "  For  a 


Il8  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Persecuting  Husband/ '  "  At  Sending  a  Child 
to  a  Boarding-school,"  "A  Collier's  Hymn," 
"  For  an  Unconverted  Wife,"  "For  One  Re- 
tired into  the  Country,"  "  A  Wedding-song,7' 
"  On  Going  to  Work  ;  "  and  the  more  common 
captions,  such  as  "  For  Sabbath,"  "  Bereave- 
ment," "  Sleep,"  "  Morning  and  Evening."  To 
many  a  devout  Methodist  these  hymns  have 
been,  as  indeed  they  are  suited  to  be,  "  the 
key  of  the  morning  and  the  bolt  of  the  night." 
Indeed,  these  hymns,  beautiful  and  felicitous 
as  they  often  are  in  the  mere  matter  of  expres- 
sion, seldom  seem  like  mere  words,  but  like 
"  a  heart  poured  out  into  a  heart — a  child-like, 
dependent  human  heart  into  the  great,  infi- 
nite, tender  heart  of  God." 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  Charles  Wesley's 
hymns  is  that  known  as  "  Wrestling  Jacob," 
beginning,  "  Come,  O  thou  Traveler  unknown." 
Watts  said  of  it :  "I  would  rather  be  the  au- 
thor of  that  single  poem  than  of  all  the 
hymns  which  I  have  ever  written."  John 
Wesley  indicated  his  own  estimate  of  this  tes- 
timony by  incorporating  it  into  the  biograph- 
ical  notice   of  his  brother  in  the  Minutes  of 


WATTS   AND    WESLEY.  II9 

the  Conference  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Dean  Trench  says  of  it :  "  Though  not  emi- 
nently adapted  for  liturgic  use,  it  is  yet  quite 
the  noblest  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns."36 
Considered  as  a  poetical  composition,  this 
opinion  might  be  generally  acquiesced  in  ;  but 
considered  as  a  hymn,  this  can  by  no  means 
be  true.  It  neither  belongs  to  the  highest 
class  of  Christian  hymns,  nor  does  it  satisfy 
the  highest  conditions  of  utility.  It  is  by  no 
means  from  the  mere  accident  of  being  with- 
out music  well  suited  for  popular  use  that  it  is 
so  seldom  heard,  even  in  the  social  meetings, 
but  because  it  is  not  well  suited  to  answer  the 
purpose  of  a  hymn.  But  its  eminent  script- 
uralness,  its  deep  spirituality,  its  felicity  of 
style,  its  vividness,  and  its  thoroughly  sus- 
tained interest  from  beginning  to  end  bear 
eloquent  testimony  to  the  wonderful  genius  of 
the  author. 

Robert  Southey  pronounces  "  Stand  the 
omnipotent  decree"  "the  finest  lyric  in  the 
English  language;"  but  if  the  judgment  of 
those  who  have  made  much  use  of  the  Wes- 
leyan    hymns — and    so    have    made    up    their 


120  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

judgment  by  the  test  of  experience  rather 
than  of  literary  taste — is  of  any  value,  there 
are  many  finer  among  the  hymns  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley. 

The  hymn,  "  O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to 
sing, "  which  has  from  the  first  occupied  the 
place  of  honor  in  the  Methodist  hymn-books 
of  Great  Britain  and  America,  was  written  on 
the  first  anniversary  of  his  spiritual  birth,  and 
so  is,  doubtless  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  out- 
pouring of  his  own  rapturous  emotions. 

"  Come  away  to  the  skies,  my  beloved,  arise, 
And  rejoice  in  the  day  thou  wast  born  ;  " 

and 

"  Come,  let  us  ascend,  my  companion  and  friend, 
To  a  taste  of  the  banquet  above," 

were  both  addressed  to  his  wife  on  her  birth- 
day.37 

But  beyond  question  the  most  popular,  if 
not  the  most  famous,  of  Charles  Wesley's 
hymns  is  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul."  Says 
Henry  Ward  Beecher:  "  I  would  rather  have 
written  that  hymn  than  to  have  the  fame  of 
all  the  kings  that   ever  sat  on  the  earth.  .  .  . 


WATTS    AND    WESLEY.  121 

It  will  go  on  singing  until  the  last  trump  brings 
forth  the  angel-band  ;  and  then,  I  think,  will 
mount  up  on  some  lip  to  the  very  presence  of 
God."  "  Two  lines  of  this  hymn,"  says  Rev. 
Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  "  have  been  breathed  fer- 
vently and  often  out  of  bleeding  hearts.  When 
we  wrere  once  in  the  valley  of  death-shade, 
with  one  beautiful  child  in  the  new-made  grave 
and  the  other  threatened  with  fatal  disease, 
there  was  no  prayer  which  we  said  oftener  than 
this  : 

'  Leave,  O  leave  me  not  alone  ! 
Stilt  support  and  comfort  me  ! ' 

We  do  not  doubt  that  tens  of  thousands  of 
other  bereaved  and  wounded  hearts  have  tried 
this  piercing  cry  out  of  the  depths."  Of  the 
origin  of  this  hymn  it  is  only  certainly  known 
that  it  was  written  in  1739  and  appeared  in  a 
volume  of  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems  (174c) 
with  the  title,  "  In  Temptation." 

One  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  of  all 
these  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  reflects  the 
scenery  of  Land's  End  even  more  vividly  than 
do  any  of  Watts's  that  of  Southampton.     The 


122  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

second  verse  of  the  hymn  "  Thou  God  of  glo- 
rious majesty"  reads  as  follows: 

"  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
'Twixt  two  unbounded  seas,  I  stand 

Secure,  insensible ; 
A  point  of  time,  a  moment's  space, 
Removes  me  to  that  heavenly  place, 

Or  shuts  me  up  in  hell." 

The  hymn  above  mentioned  as  praised  by 
Southey — "  Stand  the  omnipotent  decree  " — 
doubtless  derives  much  of  its  special  interest 
and  impressiveness  in  that  it  was  written  u  For 
the  Year  1756  " — a  time  when  men  were  ap- 
palled by  the  terrible  calamity  of  the  great 
Lisbon  earthquake.  Read  in  the  light  of  this 
fearful  catastrophe,  the  sublimity  of  its  almost 
unequaled  utterances  is  fully  evident. 
Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 

was  a  special  favorite  with  John  Wesley.  It 
is  the  concluding  part  of  what  was  originally  a 
long  poem  of  more  than  a  hundred  lines;  which 
poem  has  been  divided  into  four  hymns,  which, 
in  the  Methodist  Hymnal,  are  made  to  follow 
each  other  in  proper  order.  The  part  com- 
mencing, 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 


WATTS   AND   WESLEY.  1 23 

is  a  tender  and  beautiful  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  pious  dead.  One  of  the  most  tender 
traditions  of  the  later  years  of  John  Wesley  is 
that  which  represents  him  as  having,  on  one 
occasion,  come  to  the  chapel  in  City  Road, 
where  he  was  to  preach  that  evening,  and  as 
the  shades  of  the  evening  were  gathering 
around  him,  standing  with  his  head  bowed  on 
his  hand,  as  if  holding  communion  with  the 
invisible  world  ;  and  then  giving  out  this 
hymn,  in  which  he  seemed  to  gather  up  the 
precious  memories  which  bound  him  to  the 
first  band  of  heroic  wrorkers,  of  which  he  was 
then  almost  the  sole  survivor : 

"  Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above 

That  have  obtained  the  prize, 
And  on  the  eagle-wings  of  love 

To  joys  celestial  rise.     .     .     . 

"  One  family  we  dwell  in  Him, 

One  church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream, 

The  narrow  stream  of  death. 
One  army  of  the  living  God, 

To  his  command  we  bow  ; 
Part  of  his  host  have  crossed  the  flood. 

And  part  are  crossing  now. 


124  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

"Our  old  companions  in  distress 

We  haste  again  to  see, 
And  eager  long  for  our  release, 

And  full  felicity. 
E'en  now  by  faith  we  join  our  hands 

With  those  that  went  before ; 
And  greet  the  blood-besprinkled  bands 

On  the  eternal  shore." 


T 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY   HYMNS.  125 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HYMNS   OF   THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY. 

HE  service  rendered  to  vital  Christianity 
in  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  hymns  of 
Watts  and  Wesley  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
"  As  vestals  in  those  dark  days  they  kept  the 
sacred  flame  alight  ;  and  when  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  breathed  upon  the  land  they  were 
the  first  songs  of  awakened  Christianity. 
Warming  cold  devotions,  rebuking  lifeless  or- 
thodoxy, testifying  against  Arian  error,  they 
performed  in  the  first  century  the  real  service 
which  evangelical  hymns  have  performed  in 
other  periods  for  the  Church.  In  the  very 
dawn  of  church  history  the  Arian  bishop,  Paul 
of  Samosata,  banished  from  the  churches  the 
hymns  which  had  been  in  use  since  the  second 
century,  because  they  were  addressed  '  to 
Christ  as  God,'  and  interfered  with  the  prog- 
ress of  Arian  error.  As  Frederick  the  Great 
and  his  clique  found  the  Gesangbuch  a  bar  to 
the  progress  of   rationalist  tenets,  and  sought 


126  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

to  tone  down  its  rich  evangelism  to  the  neutral 
tint  of  a  negative  theology,  so  the  Arianism 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  finding  a  formida- 
ble obstacle  in  the  Trinitarian  doxologies  then 
attached  to  the  Psalter,  and  an  invincible  foe 
in  Watts's  hymns,  demanded  that  nothing 
should  be  sung  in  worship  but  the  Psalms  of 
David.  Many  independent  congregations,  it 
is  believed,  were  preserved  from  the  infection 
of  Arian  error  by  nothing  else  than  the  intro- 
duction of  hymn-books." 

The  channel  having  been  opened,  there  be- 
gan at  once  to  rise  a  tide  of  song  which  has 
not  since  gone  down.  It  has  widened  and 
deepened  until  the  whole  earth  has  been  blessed 
by  its  ministry.  The  hymn-book  is  now  and 
every-where  the  companion  of  the  Bible  and 
prayer-book.  If  one  wants  to  realize  the  power 
of  hymnology  as  an  aid  to  devotion  let  him 
conceive,  if  he  can,  the  quality  of  a  social  re- 
ligious service  without  song. 

Among  Watts's  contemporaries  none  so 
nearly  approaches  the  master  singer  as  the 
saintly  Philip  Doddridge  (1702-175 1).  He,  like 
Watts,  had  an  ancestry  which  had  honorably 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  \2J 

suffered  persecution  for  conscience'  sake,  and 
his  early  training  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  a 
devoted  mother,  eminent  for  intelligence  and 
piety.  Very  beautiful  is  the  tribute  paid  by 
Doddridge  to  his  parents.  "  I  was  brought 
up,"  he  says,  "  in  the  early  knowledge  of  re- 
ligion by  my  pious  parents,  who  were  in  their 
character  very  worthy  of  their  birth  and  edu- 
cation ;  and  I  well  remember  that  my  mother 
taught  me  the  history  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments, before  I  could  read,  by  the  assistance 
of  some  blue  Dutch  tiles  in  the  chimney-place 
of  the  room  where  we  commonly  sat  ;  and  the 
wise  and  pious  reflections  she  made  upon  those 
stories  were  the  means  of  enforcing  such  good 
impressions  on  my  heart  as  never  wore  out." 

When  the  testing  time  came — and  it  came 
early — young  Doddridge  proved  himself  worthy 
of  his  lineage.  Confronted  with  the  problem 
of  getting  an  education  with  slight  means,  he 
promptly  declined  the  Duchess  of  Bedford's 
offer  to  see  him  through  Cambridge  University 
and  comfortably  settled  in  a  living  because  it 
was  conditioned  upon  his  entering  the  minis- 
try of  the  Established  Church. 


128  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

At  twenty-one  he  accepted  a  call  to  Kib- 
worth,  in  Leicestershire,  the  limitations  of 
whose  opportunities  he  sets  forth  as  follows : 
"  It  is  one  of  the  most  unpolite  congregations 
I  ever  knew,  consisting  almost  entirely  of 
farmers  and  graziers,  with  their  subalterns.  I 
have  not  so  much  as  a  tea-table  in  my  diocese, 
although  above  eight  miles  in  extent,  and  but 
one  hoop  petticoat  in  the  whole  circuit  ;  and 
were  it  not  for  talking  to  the  cattle,  admiring 
the  poultry,  and  preaching  twice  every  Sab- 
bath I  should  certainly  lose  the  organs  of 
speech." 

In  1729  he  was  called  to  minister  to  the 
Castle  Hill  congregation  at  Northampton, 
where  his  life-work  was  done  and  where  he  la- 
bored indefatigably  for  more  than  a  score  of 
years  as  pastor,  teacher,  and  author.  There 
he  married  Miss  Mercy  Maris  in  1730,  and 
here  were  produced  his  admirable  commentary 
on  the  Scriptures  and  his  learned  lectures  on 
divinity.  The  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in 
the  Soul  is  a  devotional  classic,  and  has  been 
singled  out  as  the  most  useful  book  of  its  kind 
produced  in   the  eighteenth    century.     It  has 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  1 29 

passed  through  numberless  editions  in  our  own 
language,  and  has  been  translated  into  a  large 
number  of  other  languages  to  the  edification 
of  thousands.  To  this  work  more  than  to  any 
other  the  Church  is  indebted  for  Wilberforce 
and  his  scarcely  less  noted  defense  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  multitudes  of  others  from  all 
conditions  of  life  have  been  led  to  Christ  for 
pardon  and  life  through  its  searching  and  win- 
ning evangel. 

As  choice  and  useful  as  his  justly  famous 
prose  classic,  and  appealing  to  an  even  wider 
constituency  of  readers,  are  some  of  Dodd- 
ridge's hymns.  Most  of  them  were  composed 
in  connection  with  his  sermons.  They  were 
intended  to  summarize  in  song  the  doctrine  of 
the  discourse  which  might  thus  find  a  hearing 
denied  to  it  otherwise.  In  the  striking  figure 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hamilton  :  "  If  amber 
is  the  gum  of  fossil  trees,  fetched  up  and  floated 
off  by  the  ocean,  hymns  like  these  are  a  spirit- 
ual amber.  Most  of  the  sermons  to  which 
they  originally  pertained  have  disappeared  for- 
ever ;  but,  at  once  beautiful  and  buoyant,  these 

sacred  strains  are  destined  to  carry  the  devou: 
9 


130  GOSPEL  SINGERS. 

emotions  of  Doddridge  to  every  shore  where 
his  Master  is  loved  and  where  his  mother- 
tongue  is  spoken." 

There  are  few  hymns  more  closely  identified 
with  Methodist  class  and  prayer  meetings  than 
the  jubilant  "  O  happy  day,  that  fixed  my 
choice,"  which  was  appended  to  a  sermon  on 
2  Chron.  xv,  15.  Well  might  Montgomery 
say:  "  Blessed  is  the  man  who  can  take  the 
words  of  this  hymn  and  make  them  his  own 
from  a  similar  experience."  There  is  no  strain 
in  heaven  or  on  earth  which  charms  the  ear 
even  of  the  spiritually  dull  as  does  the  glow- 
ing rapture  of  a  soul  new  born  into  the  king- 
dom. His  "  Hark!  the  glad  sound,  the  Sav- 
iour comes,"  which  was  written  to  be  sung  at 
the  close  of  a  Christmas  sermon  based  upon 
Luke  iv,  18,  19,  is,  in  the  judgment  of  many, 
his  masterpiece.  Lord  Selborne  denominates 
it  "  as  sweet,  vigorous,  and  perfect  a  composi- 
tion as  can  any  where  be  found."  Other  fa- 
miliar hymns  are :  "  Lord  of  the  Sabbath, 
hear  our  vows,"  written  for  a  sermon  on  "the 
rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God  " 
(Heb.  iv,  9);  "  How  gentle  God's  commands," 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  3  I 

a  fine  example  of  his  gentler  manner,  and  his 
metrical  conclusion  of  a  sermon  on  1  Pet.  v,  7; 
"  Grace,  'tis  a  charming  sound,"  appended  to 
a  sermon  on  Eph.  ii,  5;  and  "  Awake,  my 
soul,  stretch  every  nerve,"  a  paraphrase  in 
stirring  measure  of  the  apostolic  exhortation  in 
Phil,  iii,  12-14.  One  of  his  choicest  composi- 
tions, beginning,  "  While  on  the  verge  of  life 
I  stand,"  was  suggested  by  a  dream  in  which 
the  author  seemed  to  meet  with  Christ,  and  re- 
ceive from  the  Master  words  of  commendation 
and  blessing. 

The  closing  scenes  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  life 
were  a  fitting  crown  to  the  beauty  of  its  un- 
folding. Exposure  brought  on  a  serious  trou- 
ble, to  get  rid  of  which  he  sailed  to  Lisbon, 
whence,  as  he  said  to  a  friend,  he  could  as  well 
go  to  heaven  as  from  his  own  Northampton 
study.  He  steadily  failed  in  body,  but  was 
more  than  compensated  in  the  exaltation  of 
his  communings  with  God.  Frequently  he 
exclaimed  to  his  wife  :  "  Such  delightful  and 
transporting  views  of  the  heavenly  world  as  my 
Father  is  now  indulging  me  with  no  words 
can  express."     Cure  was   not  in  the   climate, 


132  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

and  soon  after  the  arrival  in  Lisbon  his  saint- 
ly soul  went  home  to  God.  The  longings  of 
the  pure  heart  were  fulfilled  ;  the  perfect  joy 
was  his  at  last. 

"  Where  Jesus  dwells  my  soul  would  be, 
It  faints  my  much-loved  Lord  to  see  ; 
Earth,  twine  no  more  about  my  heart, 
For  'tis  far  better  to  depart." 

When  Mr.  Spurgeon,  the  famous  English 
divine,  was  a  child,  he  was  brought  under  the 
influence  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Knill,  a  preacher 
and  missionary  of  rare  unction  and  eminent 
personal  qualities.  One  day  at  morning 
prayers  Mr.  Knill,  taking  the  lad  upon  his 
knee,  said,  solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  the 
family  :  "  This  child  will  one  day  preach  the 
Gospel,  and  he  will  preach  it  to  great  multi- 
tudes. I  am  persuaded  that  he  will  preach 
in  the  chapel  of  Rowland  Hill."  He  then 
gave  the  boy  sixpence  to  learn  the  hymn  : 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

And  a  promise  was  exacted  that  when,  accord- 
ing to  the   prediction,  he  did  preach  in   Row- 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 33 

land  Hill's  chapel,  that  hymn  should  be  sung. 
Years  after,  in  an  emergency,  Mr.  Spurgeon 
was  invited  to  preach  in  Rowland  Hill's  chap- 
el, and  consented  on  condition  that  the  hymn 
"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way"  should  be 
sung.  The  request  was  cheerfully  acceded  to 
and  the  invitation  accepted.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  describe  the  emotions  of  the 
preacher  as  he  brought  to  mind  the  remarka- 
ble series  of  providences  connecting  his  pres- 
ence in  that  pulpit  with  the  memorable  scene 
of  his  childhood  days. 

The  hymn  sung  under  these  extraordinary 
circumstances  was  written  by  William  Cowper 
(1731-1800),  "the  most  popular  poet  of  his 
generation,  and  the  best  of  English  letter- 
writers,"  as  his  biographer  Southey  declares. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  composed  under  cir- 
cumstances no  less  extraordinary.  According 
to  one  tradition,  Cowper  on  a  certain  occasion 
thought  he  had  been  divinely  ordered  to  a  par- 
ticular part  of  the  River  Ouse,  there  to  drown 
himself.  The  driver  of  the  carriage  missed 
his  way,  and  upon  returning  home  the  poet 
wrote  this  hymn.     Another  tradition  is  that  it 


134  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

was  written  during  a  solitary  walk  in  the  fields 
when  the  poet  had  a  presentiment  of  returning 
insanity.  Montgomery  refers  to  it  as  a  lyric 
of  high  tone  and  character,  and  rendered  aw- 
fully interesting  by  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  composed — in  the  twilight  of  de- 
parting reason.  This  hymn  was  the  last  con- 
tributed by  Cowper  to  the  Olney  collection 
— that  undying  "  monument  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  an  intimate  and  endeared 
friendship  "  between  himself  and  the  Rev. 
John  Newton. 

It  is  to  Cowper  also  that  we  owe  the  hymn 
which,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  is  the 
favorite  of  the  social  prayer-meeting  and  camp- 
meeting,  and  which  has  aided  thousands  of  in- 
quiring hearts  to  the  decision  that  brings  spir- 
itual light  and  life — "  There  is  a  fountain  filled 
with  blood."  Literary  criticism  has  had  no 
friendly  word  for  this  hymn  ;  but  it  has  made 
its  way  to  almost  universal  favor  and  use.  A 
historian  of  the  literature  of  the  eighteenth 
century  says  :  "  This  hymn  still  finds  its  place 
amid  the  familiar  utterances  of  piety,  but  we 
cannot  think,  is   often  used  by  any  congrega- 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 35 

tion  of  worshiping  people  in  these  days."  In 
this  country  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  say 
that  it  is  one  of  the  very  few  hymns  known 
and  loved  by  nearly  every  congregation  of 
worshiping  people.  The  history  of  its  use  in 
the  general  revivals  in  this  land  and  in  Britain 
would  show  that  tens  of  thousands  had  sent 
up  to  God  on  the  wings  of  this  hymn  the  jubi- 
lant thought  of  their  hearts  as  they  recalled 
u  the  fountain  filled  with  blood  "  which  had 
"  washed  all  their  sins  away/ '  An  interesting  in- 
cident is  related  of  its  being  sung  by  mill  hands 
in  a  factory-room  at  Belfast,  Ireland,  with  so 
much  fervor  that  the  manager — an  unbeliever 
— was  fain  to  withdraw  lest  he  should  dissolve 
his  professed  atheism  in  tears  of  contrition. 

From  Cowper,  too,  we  have  that  most  ex- 
quisite of  aspirations,  "  O  for  a  closer  walk 
with  God,"  which  has  gone  into  the  hymnody 
of  all  Churches  ;  "  Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord, 
I  flee,"  which  was  inspired  by  witnessing  the 
intense  devotion  of  a  fellow-worshiper  in  the 
church  at  Huntingdon  ;  and  "  Jesus,  where'er 
thy  people  meet,"  which  was  written  for  the 
opening  of  a  social  prayer-room  at  Olney. 


I36  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

The  pathos  and  tragedy  of  Cowper's  life  are 
too  well  known  to  need  rehearsing  here.  The 
mental  malady  to  which  he  was  predisposed 
from  early  youth  took  an  aggravated  form  at 
three  separate  periods  of  his  life,  unseating 
reason  and  rendering  work  impossible  ;  and 
"  the  poet  who  of  all  English  artists  has  written 
the  noblest  hymns  for  depth  of  religious  feel- 
ing and  for  loveliness  of  quiet  style  ;  whose  life 
was  blameless  as  the  wrater-lilies  which  he 
loved  and  the  way  of  life  of  which  on  silent 
streams  he  made  his  own  ;  whose  heart 
breathed  the  sweetest  air  of  natural  piety,  and 
yet  could  sympathize  with  the  supersensuous 
world  in  which  Guyon  lived,  died  in  ghastly 
hopelessness,  refusing  comfort  to  the  last." 

"O  poets,  from  a  maniac's  tongue  was  poured  the  death- 
less singing; 

O  Christians,  to  your  cross  of  hope  a  helpless  hand  is 
clinging. 

O  men,  this  man,  in  brotherhood  your  weary  paths  be- 
guiling, 

Groaned  inly,  while  he  taught  you  peace,  and  died  while 
you  were  smiling." 

Altogether  different  from  the  gentle  Cow- 
per  was    his   friend,    the    Rev.   John    Newton 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  I  37 

(1725-1807),  at  whose  suggestion  the  Olney 
hymn-book  was  undertaken,  and  who  contrib- 
uted by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  the  collec- 
tion. He  was  a  native  of  London,  blessed 
with  a  pious  mother  whose  influence  was  sad- 
ly counteracted  by  an  indifferent  father.  The 
young  Newton  went  to  sea  and  abandoned 
himself  to  the  most  vicious  practices.  A  copy 
of  The  Imitation  of  Christ  was  providentially 
brought  under  his  notice.  An  impression  was 
made  which  was  re-enforced  by  exposure  to 
imminent  peril  from  shipwreck.  The  outcome 
was  a  happy  conversion,  and,  as  the  epitaph 
which  he  wrote  for  himself  records,  "  John 
Newton,  clerk,  once  an  infidel  and  libertine, 
a  servant  of  slaves  in  Africa,  was,  by  the  rich 
mercy  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
preserved,  restored,  pardoned,  and  appointed  to 
preach  the  faith  he  had  long  labored  to  de- 
stroy/' For  some  time  after  his  conversion 
Newton  was  in  the  slave-trade,  but  subsequent 
enlightenment  convinced  him  of  its  inhuman 
nature.  He  secured  a  position  on  shore,  made 
his  first  attempt  at  preaching  in  1758,  and  in 
1764  became   curate   at   Olney.      In    1799  he 


I38  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

moved  to  London,  where,  eight  years  later,  he 
died. 

Newton's  hymns,  with  few  exceptions,  are 
very  ordinary.  The  exceptions,  however,  rank 
with  the  most  popular  and  most  widely  used 
"  How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours,"  which 
has  articulated  the  outpouring  of  many  a  saint 
who  felt  it  to  be  the  transcript  of  his  own  ex- 
perience, has  been  in  every  edition  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Hymn-Bookfrom  its  first 
edition.  "  Safely  through  another  week,"  a 
favorite  hymn  for  Sabbath  morning  worship, 
was  originally  written  as  a  hymn  for  Saturday 
evening  and  modified  for  use  on  the  Lord's 
day.  "  How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds" 
is  Newton's  lyrical  expression  of  the  thought 
suggested  by  Sol.  Song  i,  3,  "  Thy  name  is  as 
ointment  poured  forth."  It  is  one  of  the 
choicest  hymns  in  our  language,  and  a  worthy 
companion  of  that  sweetest  of  mediaeval  strains 
from  the  lyre  of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  "  Je- 
sus, Dulcis  Memorial  of  which  it  is  said  to  be 
an  echo.  "  Amazing  grace,  how  sweet  the 
sound,"  is  manifestly  autobiographic,  and  with 
his  "  In  evil  long  I  took   delight  "  shows  how 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY   HYMNS.  1 39 

keen  his  contrition  and  thorough  his  repentance 
were.  "  Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare,"  has 
had  extended  popularity  as  a  favorite  with 
Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon,  who  was  wont  to  have 
his  congregation  sing  it  just  before  the  prayer 
in  public  service.  "  Though  troubles  assail 
and  dangers  affright, "  a  hymn  especially  dear 
to  souls  who  have  seen  trouble,  has  a  verse 
commonly  omitted  from  the  church  collections 
for  theological  reasons,  but  which  represents 
the  superb  trust  of  the  writer  : 

'*  We  may,  like  the  ships, 

By  tempest  be  tost 
On  perilous  deeps, 

But  cannot  be  lost. 

"  Though  Satan  enrages 

The  wind  and  the  tide, 
The  promise  engages, 

The  Lord  will  provide." 

Such  a  thought  was  only  natural  to  one  who 
had  been  almost  miraculously  preserved  from 
shipwreck,  and  transformed  from  a  servant  of 
slaves  to  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Other 
favorites  are  the  fine  hymn  of  the  Church, 
"  Glorious   things  of  thee  are    spoken, "    sug- 


140  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

gested  by  the  eighty-seventh  Psalm  ;  "  Mary 
to  the  Saviour's  tomb,"  based  upon  the  narra- 
tive in  John  xx,  11-16;  "  'Tis  a  thing  I  long 
to  know,"  which  so  strikingly  sets  forth  the 
longing  of  many  an  honest  follower  of  Jesus 
for  assurances  of  acceptance;  "  While  with 
ceaseless  course  the  sun,"  one  of  our  most 
effective  New  Year  hymns  ;  and  "  One  there 
is  above  all  others,"  the  rhythmical  setting  of 
a  thought  which  has  cheered  many  an  outcast 
and  brought  comfort  to  the  friendless. 

Detail  has  been  allowed  to  Cowper  and 
Newton  which  cannot  here  be  given  the  other 
hymnists  of  this  period.  Their  Olney  collec- 
tion, which,  next  to  the  productions  of  Watts 
and  the  Wesleys,  ranks  as  the  most  important 
of  the  century,  would  justify  this.  The  revival 
opened  the  fountains  of  melody  in  many  hearts 
which  in  one  way  or  another  found  their  way 
into  the  general  tide  of  church  song. 

From  John  Byrom  (1691-1763),  a  Lancashire 
worthy  of  strong  feeling,  in  whom  faith  burned 
like  "  a  hidden  flame,"  we  have  the  fine  Christ- 
mas hymn,  "  Christians,  awake,  salute  the  happy 
morn;"  and  from  Robert  Seagrave  (born  1693), 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  141 

whose  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  godliness  in 
the  Established  Church  was  not  fully  appre- 
ciated by  his  superiors,  the  useful  and  popular 
"  Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings." 

Joseph  Grigg  (1 719-1768)  was  the  author  of 
some  admirable  lyrics,  but  chiefly  remarkable 
for  his  "  Jesus,  and  can  it  ever  be?"  which 
was  written  when  the  poet  was  ten  years  old. 

William  Hammond  (1719-1783),  a  graduate 
of  Cambridge  University  and  a  probable  con- 
vert of  Whitefield's,  who  subsequently  became 
a  minister  in  the  Moravian  Church,  gave  to 
the  Church  the  vigorous  and  heart-stirring, 
"Awake,  and  sing  the  song,"  and  that  fine 
prayer-song,  "  Lord,  we  come  before  thee  now." 

Joseph  Hart  (1712-1768),  who  for  the  last 
eight  years  of  his  life  was  an  eminently  success- 
ful pastor,  out  of  the  depth  of  an  extraordi- 
nary experience  produced  one  of  the  tenderest 
invitation  hymns  ever  written,  "  Come,  ye  sin- 
ners, poor  and  needy." 

John  Cennick  (171 7—1 75 5),  who,  like  Ham- 
mond, went  from  the  Methodists  to  the  Mora- 
vians, furnished  "Jesus,  my  all,  to  heaven  is 
gone,"  and  "  Children  of  the  heavenly  King," 


142  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

which,  however,  owe  much  to  editorial  emen- 
dation. Cennick  was  also  the  author  of  the  in- 
vocation and  thanksgiving  inscribed  on  John 
Wesley's  family  tea-pot,  which  is  still  preserved. 

Benjamin  Beddome  (1717-1795)  and  Samuel 
Stennett  (1727-1795)  were  Baptist  preachers 
and  sons  of  Baptist  preachers.  To  the  former 
we  owe,  "  Witness,  ye  men  and  angels,  now," 
and  to  the  latter,  "  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks 
I  stand." 

Robert  Robinson  (1735-1790)  and  John 
Fawcett  (1739-1817),  also  Baptist  ministers, 
were  both  converted  under  Whitefield,  and 
became  the  authors  of  imperishable  hymns. 
From  the  former  we  have,  "  Come,  thou 
Fount  of  every  blessing,"  and  from  the  lat- 
ter, "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  which 
latter  was  written  upon  his  determination  to 
stay  with  the  humble  Wainsgate  parish  after 
having  received  and  accepted  the  call  to  an 
influential  church  in  London. 

The  author  of  "  Hail,  thou  once  despised 
Jesus,"  was  John  Bakewell  ( 1721-1819),  one  of 
John  Wesley's  most  useful  local  preachers, 
and,  according  to  the  inscription  on  his  tomb, 


EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  143 

one  who  "  adorned  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour  eighty  years,  and  preached  his  glori- 
ous Gospel  about  seventy  years."  At  Bake- 
well's  home  Thomas  Olivers  (1725-1799)  com- 
posed that  ode  of  singular  power  and  beauty, 
"  The  God  of  Abraham  praise,"  of  which 
Montgomery  says  :  "  There  is  not  in  our  lan- 
guage a  lyric  of  more  majestic  style,  more  ele- 
vated thought,  or  more  glorious  imagery.  It 
was  written  for  a  Jewish  melody  furnished 
by  Signor  Leoni,  which  had  charmed  Olivers. 

"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name"  has 
been  denominated  the  Methodist  "  Te  Deum." 
It  was  written  by  Edward  Perronet  (died  1792), 
a  comrade  of  the  VVesleys,  until  separated  from 
them  by  doctrinal  differences,  and  a  son  of  Rev. 
Vincent  Perronet,  vicar  of  Shoreham,  Kent, 
always  the  steadfast  and  ardent  friend  of  the 
Wesley  brothers. 

Augustus  M.  Toplady  (1740-1778)  was  the 
son  of  a  British  army  officer  and  a  native  of 
Surrey,  England.  During  a  visit  to  Ireland 
he  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of  a 
fervent  but  unlettered  local  preacher,  and  ma- 
triculated at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  to  study 


144  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

for  the  ministry.  At  eighteen  his  reading  of 
Dr.  Manton's  sermons  decided  his  bias  toward 
Calvinism,  and  at  twenty-two  he  was  ordained 
a  minister  in  the  Established  Church.  He  was 
an  impressive  preacher  and  popular,  and  his 
power  as  a  controversialist  was  great.  The 
acrimonious  debate  with  Wesley  has  been  al- 
ready referred  to.  It  was  given  to  Toplady  to 
write  the  hymn  "  Rock  of  ages,"  by  some  con- 
sidered the  finest  hymn  in  our  language,  and 
one  of  the  most  widely  useful  in  any  language. 
From  Wales  came  the  exquisite  strains 
of  William  Williams  (1717-1791),  whose 
"O'er  those  gloomy  hills  of  gladness"  is  a 
noble  missionary  hymn  sung  for  years  before 
missionary  societies  were  founded  ;  and  whose 
"  Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah,"  is  a  gen- 
eral favorite. 

John  Berridge  (1716- 1793)  was  a  zealous 
minister  of  the  Established  Church,  who  itin- 
erated extensively,  despite  the  protest  of  his 
ecclesiastical  caretakers,  and  who,  a  bachelor 
himself,  wrote  a  marriage  hymn,  "  Since  Jesus 
freely  did  appear,"  which  is  found  in  several 
important  collections. 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 45 

A  few  hymns  composed  by  women  have 
come  down  to  us  from  this  period.  "  Father, 
whatever  of  earthly  bliss,"  was  written  by  Anne 
Steele  (1716-1778),  of  whom  it  has  been  said 
that  "  no  woman,  and  but  few  men,  have  writ- 
ten so  many  hymns  which  have  had  general 
acceptance  in  the  Church."  She  was  reared 
in  comfortable  circumstances  among  the  hills 
of  Hampshire,  near  Southampton,  England. 
An  injury  received  while  young  involved  many 
years  of  suffering,  and  the  drowning  of  her 
intended  husband  on  the  day  preceding  the 
day  set  for  their  marriage  added  great  sorrow 
of  heart.  Her  tender  and  beneficent  minis- 
tries among  the  villagers  and  her  gracious  dis- 
position endeared  her  greatly  to  all.  In  death 
she  uttered  the  triumphant  testimony,  u  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 

Selina     Shirley    (1707- 1791),     daughter    of 

Washington,     Earl    of     Ferrers,    and    wife    of 

Theophilus  Hastings,  Earl  of  Huntingdon  who 

is  credited  with  the  hymn  beginning  in  most 

collections  with    the    line,    "  When   thou,  my 

righteous  Judge,  shalt  come,"  was  one  of  the 

most    remarkable   women    of  her   time.      Her 
10 


I46  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

piety  and  liberality  were  equally  conspicuous, 
and  in  an  age  when  it  required  courage  to  be 
religious  at  all,  even  in  church  circles,  her  re- 
ligion was  as  ardent  as  it  was  sincere.  Even 
George  III.  "  wished  there  was  a  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon in  every  diocese  in  the  kingdom, "  when 
a  bishop  complained  of  her  zeal  for  godliness. 
Her  house  was  the  favorite  resort  for  the  lead- 
ers of  the  evangelical  revival,  and  she  was  often 
their  companion  on  preaching  tours.  She 
founded  Trevecca  College  in  South  Wales,  for 
the  education  of  young  men  for  the  ministry, 
and  before  her  death  consented  to  the  organ- 
ization of  the  "  Connection  "  which  bears  her 
name.  Among  her  chaplains  were  Romaine 
and  Whitefield,  and  with  the  latter  she  may 
be  said  to  have  founded  the  Calvinistic  branch 
of  Methodism.  Dying  at  eighty-four,  she  could 
fairly  say,  "  My  work  is  done.  I  have  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  go  to  my  Father." 

u  How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies/'  a 
hymn  much  in  use  at  funerals,  was  written  by 
Mrs.  Anna  Laetitia  Barbauld  (1743-1825),  who 
is,  perhaps,  more  widely  known  by  her  "  Ode 
to    Life,"    which    Wordsworth    committed    to 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 47 

memory,  and,  though  "not  in  the  habit  of 
grudging  people  their  good  things/'  wished 
"  he  had  written  these  lines  :  " 

"  Life  !     We've  been  long  together, 
Through  pleasant  and  through  cloudy  weather  ; 
'Tis  hard  to  part  when  friends  are  dear, 
Perhaps  'twill  cost  a  sigh,  a  tear  ; 
Then  steal  away,  give  little  warning, 

Choose  thine  own  time  ; 

Say  not,  '  Good-night,'  but  in  some  brighter  clime 
Bid  me  '  Good-morning.'  " 


148  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HYMNS   OF   THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

THE  tide  of  hymn-writing  which  began  to 
gather  under  the  influence  of  the  Wesley- 
an  revival  of  the  eighteenth  century  rose  to  a 
flood  before  the  middle  of  this  century,  and 
shows  no  sign  of  abatement.  "  Every  man 
hath  a  psalm,"  and  in  some  way  or  other  finds 
a  publisher.  Each  denomination  has  its  own 
collection,  which  incorporates  material  from 
every  source,  and  becomes  in  turn  a  source  by 
inviting  special  contributions.  To  attempt  an 
enumeration  of  the  hymn-writers  of  this  cent- 
ury would  be  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  this 
work,  which  is  simply  to  give  some  account  of 
the  origin  and  history  of  familiar  hymns. 

It  is  a  spring  day  in  1822.  A  missionary 
meeting  is  in  progress  at  the  Wesleyan  Chapel 
in  Liverpool.  The  learned  and  saintly  Adam 
Clarke  presides.  The  speaker  is  a  man  in  mid- 
dle life.  He  is  of  medium  height,  and  has 
a  thin,  clear,    intelligent    countenance.      His 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 49 

suit  of  black  is  adorned  with  voluminous  breast 
ruffles,  after  the  fashion  of  an  earlier  day.  The 
address  which  has  touched  his  hearers  to  a 
lively  interest  in  the  absorbing  theme  is  being 
concluded.  The  speaker  becomes  a  seer.  In 
clear  vision  he  beholds  the  victorious  progress 
of  the  Christian  evangel  and  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  His  heart  pours 
itself  out  in  triumphant  ascription  : 

Hail,  to  the  Lord's  Anointed, 

Great  David's  greater  Son  ! 
Hail,  in  the  time  appointed, 

His  reign  on  earth  begun  ! 
He  comes  to  break  oppression, 

To  set  the  captive  free ; 
To  take  away  transgression, 

And  rule  in  equity." 

The  service  is  over ;  but  Dr.  Clarke,  charmed 
with  the  poem  which  seizes  the  spirit  and  ex- 
hibits some  of  the  principal  beauties  of  the  He- 
brew bard,  begs  the  manuscript  and  prints  it 
with  his  commentary  on  the  seventy-second 
Psalm,  of  which  it  is  a  versification.  The 
speaker  was  James  Montgomery  (1 771—1854), 
who  has  been  called  by  some,  but  with  mani- 
fest exaggeration,  "  the  Cowper  of  the   nine- 


I50  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

teenth  century/'  He  was  the  son  of  a  Mora- 
vian clergyman,  and  received  his  early  training 
under  Moravian  influences  at  the  settlement  in 
Fulneck,  Yorkshire,  England.  As  shop-boy 
he  discovered  his  bent  toward  literature,  which 
had  free  exercise  when  he  became  editor  of 
the  Sheffield  Iris  in  1794.  This  journal,  as 
the  Register,  had  been  edited  by  Montgom- 
ery's employer,  Mr.  Gales,  who  sought  refuge 
in  America  from  government  persecution  for 
radical  views.  With  these  views  Montgomery 
sympathized,  and  twice  found  himself  in  pris- 
on for  their  expression.  To  this  imprisonment 
we  owe  some  of  his  best  hymns.  The  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Sheffield,  and 
among  many  beautiful  ministries  was  his  care 
for  the  sisters  of  his  exiled  employer.  He 
seems  to  have  been  subject  to  occasional  de- 
pressions, and  from  one  of  these  moods  we 
have  the  hymn  beginning,  "  O  where  shall  rest 
be  found."  In  1814  he  formally  associated  him- 
self with  the  United  Brethren,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  occasion  of  writing 
"  People  of  the  living  God."  His  "  Hark,  the 
song  of  jubilee,"  was  composed  for  a  mission- 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  I  5  I 

ary  anniversary,  and  his  "  Prayer  is  the  soul's 
sincere  desire  M  was  written  at  the  request  of 
Rev.  E.  Bickersteth  for  the  latter's  Treatise 
on  Prayer.  Of  his  "Angels  from  the  realms 
of  glory,"  it  is  said  by  a  competent  critic  that 
"  for  comprehensiveness,  appropriateness  of 
expression,  force,  and  elevation  of  sentiment 
it  may  challenge  comparison  with  any  hymn 
that  was  ever  written  in  any  language  or  coun- 
try." Montgomery's  achievements  were  not 
limited  to  hymn-writing.  His  critical  work 
was  not  inconsiderable,  either  as  to  quantity  or 
quality.  His  lectures  on  literature  were  re- 
ceived with  great  favor,  and  his  literary  serv- 
ices were  recognized  by  the  government  which 
had  twice  imprisoned  him  with  a  place  on  the 
pension  list  yielding  an  income  of  ^150  per 
annum.  He  died  in  1854,  and  was  honored 
with  a  public  funeral. 

It  was  an  exciting  day  in  Scotland,  that 
memorable  18th  of  May,  1843.  The  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  sat  in 
Edinburgh,  and  citizens  of  every  station  were 
canvassing  on  street,  in  store,  and  at  the 
hearthstone  the  probable  outcome   of  the  mo- 


152  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

mentous  session.  Leaders  in  the  Church  had 
taken  a  stand  against  the  abuse  of  patronage 
and  the  interference  of  the  civil  courts.  Would 
they  follow  their  convictions  and  leave  the 
Established  Church  ?  The  answer  was  deci- 
sive and  dramatic.  "  Dr.  Welsh,  the  moderator, 
took  the  chair,  invoked  the  divine  presence, 
and  calmly  said  that  the  Assembly  could  not 
be  properly  constituted  without  violating  the 
terms  of  union  between  Church  and  State. 
He  read  a  protest  against  any  further  proceed- 
ings, bowed  to  the  representative  of  the  crown, 
stepped  down  into  the  aisle,  and  walked  to- 
ward the  door.  To  follow  him  wras  to  forsake 
the  old  Church,  its  livings,  salaries,  manses, 
pulpits,  and  parishes.  Dr.  Chalmers  had 
seemed  like  a  lion  in  reverie,  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  upon  him.  Would  he  give  up  his  chair 
in  theology?  He  seized  his  hat,  took  the  new 
departure,  and  after  him  went  more  than  four 
hundred  other  ministers  with  a  host  of  elders. 
A  cheer  burst  from  the  galleries.  In  the  street 
the  expectant  crowd  parted  and  admired  the 
heroic  procession  as  it  passed.  Lord  Jeffrey 
was   sitting  in  his  room  quietly  reading  when 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  53 

some  one  rushed  in,  saying  :  '  What  do  you 
think?  More  than  four  hundred  of  them  have 
gone  out.'  Springing  to  his  feet,  he  ex- 
claimed :  '  I  am  proud  of  my  country.  There 
is  not  another  land  on  earth  where  such  a  deed 
could  have  been  done.' '  Among  the  noble 
four  hundred  was  Horatius  Bonar,  minister  of 
the  North  Church  at  Kelso,  then  in  the  thirty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  sixth  of  his  ministry. 
Of  them  all — and  some  of  them,  like  Chalmers, 
Guthrie,  and  Candlish,  are  among  the  most 
gifted  of  any  time — none  comes  nearer  the 
heart  of  the  Church  at  large  than  this  sweet 
psalmist  of  our  modern  Israel.  His  wrork  was 
monumental,  and  in  its  reach  circled  the  earth. 
The  "  Kelso "  tracts  brought  a  message  of 
mercy  to  thousands  who  never  saw  or  heard 
the  herald  of  the  message  ;  and  his  hymns  of 
faith  and  hope  have  sung  themselves  into  the 
deepest  affections  of  the  saints  in  all  denomi- 
nations. His  life  was  rarely  beautiful  and 
other-worldly.  He  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of 
prayer.  One  of  his  children  cherishes  the  re- 
membrance of  "  the  voice  of  prayer  coming 
from  the  locked  study,  where  he  knelt  or  paced 


154  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

up  and  down,  sometimes  for  hours."  A  young 
servant  in  the  house  owed  her  conversion  to 
this.  She  thought  :  "  If  he  needs  to  pray  so 
much,  what  will  become  of  me  if  I  do  not 
pray?"  It  is  impossible  that  from  a  heart 
thus  turned  to  heavenly  things  aught  but  heav- 
enly music  should  come.  To  him  we  owe  that 
loveliest  lyric  of  the  heavenly  land,  "  Beyond 
the  smiling  and  weeping,"  and  that  most  ex- 
quisite of  personal  testimonies,  "  I  heard  the 
voice  of  Jesus  say,"  which  the  Anglican 
Bishop  Fraser,  of  Manchester,  declared  to 
be  "the  finest  hymn  in  the  English  language." 
When  asked  to  designate  his  own  favorite,  Dr. 
Bonar  selected  the  one  beginning,  "  When  the 
weary  seeking  rest,"  a  beautiful  poem  con- 
structed on  the  theme  of  Solomon's  prayer  in 
the  temple,  concluding  each  stanza  with  the 
refrain : 

"  Hear  then  in  love,  O  Lord,  the  cry 
In  heaven,  thy  dwelling-place  on  high." 

Perhaps  the  most  general  favorite  in  the 
Church,  if  we  may  judge  by  its  distribution 
among  the  denominational  collections,  is  the 
hymn,  "  I    lay  my  sins  on  Jesus,"  which,  pro- 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.     1 55 

ceeding  in  joyful  triumph  at  the  redemption 
in  Christ,  closes  appropriately  with  an  earnest 
longing  for  the  ripeness  of  character  which 
comes  from  a  life  fully  consecrated  to  Christ. 
Other  favorites  are  the  "  Pilgrim  Song;  "  "  A 
few  more  years  shall  roll ; "  "I  was  a  wandering 
sheep,"  which  has  been  used  with  telling  em- 
phasis in  revival-meetings;  and  "Thy way, not 
mine,  O  Lord,"  a  tender  and  trustful  song  of 
the  heart.  Dr.  Bonar's  hymns  were  composed 
under  varied  circumstances.  "Sometimes," 
we  are  told,  "  they  were  timed  by  the  numbers 
of  the  trickling  brook  that  babbled  near  him; 
sometimes  attuned  to  the  ordered  tramp  of 
the  ocean,  whose  crested  waves  broke  on  the 
beach  by  which  he  wandered  ;  sometimes  set 
to  the  rude  music  of  the  railway  train  that  hur- 
ried him  to  the  scene  of  duty ;  sometimes 
measured  by  the  silent  rhythm  of  the  midnight 
stars  that  shone  above  him."  The  rich  legacy 
bequeathed  by  this  saint  to  the  Church  in  his 
devotional  poetry  will  become  more  and  more 
apparent  as  it  becomes  better  known.  It  is 
doubtful  if  the  century  will  produce  a  singer 
whose  tones  are  at   once  so  rich  and  various, 


156  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

and  so   thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
praise. 

Widely  different  in  spirit  and  outcome  from 
the  movement  in  Edinburgh  was  the  so-called 
Tractarian  movement  which  agitated  the  En- 
glish establishment  during  the  third  and  fourth 
decades  of  this  century.  Like  the  Wesleyan 
movement,  it  began  in  Oxford  University,  and 
was  in  some  measure  a  protest  against  the 
evangelicalism  engendered  by  the  spread  of 
the  Wesleyan  spirit.  The  contention  of  its 
promoters  was  for  a  restoration  of  the  very 
ecclesiasticism  against  which  Wesley  had  re- 
belled, and  which  the  most  devoted  and  earnest 
part  of  the  Church  regarded  as  the  deadliest 
foe  to  real  spiritual  life  and  activity.  The  out- 
come was  as  might  have  been  expected.  While 
some  of  its  adherents  remained  in  the 
Church  of  England,  not  a  few  went  over  to 
Rome.  This  movement  had  its  singers,  and 
it  is  with  them  we  have  to  do.  Earliest, 
and  in  some  respects  chiefest,  among  them 
was  John  Keble  (1792- 1866),  whose  Chris- 
tian  Year,  issued  in  1827,  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  popular  book  of  devotional  poetry  (the 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  57 

Psalms  always  excepted)  in  literature.  From 
this  work  we  have  the  beautiful  morning 
and  evening  hymns,  "New  every  morning  is 
the  love,"  and  "Sun  of  my  soul,  thou  Saviour 
dear,"  based  respectively  upon  Lam.  iii,  22, 
23,  and  Luke  xxiv,  29.  The  impression  which 
this  work  made  upon  the  public  mind  was 
almost  revolutionary.  It  prepared  the  way 
for  the  rapid  spread  of  Tractarianism,  and, 
singularly  enough,  by  its  free  handling  of  re- 
ligious subjects,  opened  the  path  also  for  the 
advent  of  biblical  criticism,  than  which  Tracta- 
rianism dreaded  nothing  more.  According  to 
Dean  Stanley,  The  Christian  Year  has  taken 
its  place  next  to  the  Authorized  Version  and 
Prayer-Book,  far  above  the  Homilies  and  Ar- 
ticles. "  For  one  who  would  enforce  an  argu- 
ment by  quoting  the  eleventh  article,  or  the 
homily  on  Charity,"  he  says,  "  there  are  a  hun- 
dred who  would  appeal  to  The  Christian  Year." 
Perhaps  the  most  noticeable  quality  in  Keble's 
hymns  is  the  knowledge  of  Scripture  displayed. 
The  thought  is  lucid,  the  diction  vivid,  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  fervor  which  makes  them 
universally  acceptable. 


158  GOSPEL  SINGERS. 

The  very  year  (1833)  from  which  the  Trac- 
tarian  movement  is  commonly  reckoned,  a 
Church  of  England  clergyman  was  impatiently 
waiting  at  a  Mediterranean  sea-port  to  take 
passage  home.  He  was  sick  in  body  and  anx- 
ious in  mind.  An  orange  boat  was  ready  to 
sail.  He  secured  passage,  and  the  homeward 
voyage  was  begun.  But  the  boat  was  be- 
calmed and  the  impatient  spirit  sought  solace 
in  verse-making.  Here,  on  June  16,  was  writ- 
ten the  hymn,  "  Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  the 
encircling  gloom,"  which  for  beauty  of  sug- 
gestion and  felicity  of  expression  stands  al- 
most unrivaled  in  our  tongue.  The  writer  was 
John  Henry  Newman  (1801-1890),  then  a 
presbyter  in  the  Church  of  England,  and,  as 
the  incumbent  of  St.  Mary's,  a  teacher  of 
almost  unparalleled  influence  with  Oxford  stu- 
dents. He  took  his  place  in  the  current  agi- 
tation, and  became  at  once  the  most  influen- 
tial of  its  leaders.  He  entered  the  Roman 
communion  in  1845  >  in  1879  he  was  designated 
a  cardinal,  and  in  1890  he  died. 

Belonging  to  the  same  coterie  was  Frederick 
William  Faber  (18 15-1863),  whose  hymns  have 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  59 

a  sweetness  and  tender  suggestion  which  en- 
dears them  to  all  lovers  of  sacred  poetry.  He 
was,  like  Newman,  a  magician  with  words, 
and  not  a  little  of  the  spell  which  both  exercise 
in  their  writings  lies  in  the  fascination  of  felicit- 
ous phrasing.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  win- 
ning interpretation  of  the  heart's  longing  for 
heaven  than  his  "  O  paradise,  O  paradise  !  "  or 
no  more  enrapturing  melody  for  a  pilgrimage 
song  than  his  "  Hark,  hark,  my  soul  !  angelic 
songs  are  swelling.' '  Many  a  discouraged  work- 
er has  taken  heart  again  by  the  ringing  remem- 
brance that 

"  Right  is  right,  since  God  is  God, 
And  right  the  day  must  win." 

And,  despite  its  alleged  questionableness  of 
doctrine  and  faultiness  of  figure,  hosts  of  wor- 
shipers find  comfort  and  inspiration  in  remem- 
bering that 

"  There's  a  wideness  in  God's  mercy, 
Like  the  wideness  of  the  sea." 

The  Tractarian  movement  gave  an  impetus 
to  the  study  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Church 
fathers  which  was  not  without  its  effect  upon 
hymnody.       The    hymn-writers    of    the  early 


l6o  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

centuries  were  again  made  vocal  in  translations, 
and  some  of  our  most  cherished  lyrics  are  from 
these  sources.  Easily  chief  among  all  the 
workers  in  this  field  was  John  Mason  Neale 
(1818-1866),  whose  "  Jerusalem,  the  golden, " 
has  made  known  to  us  "  the  sweetest  of  all  the 
New  Jerusalem  hymns  of  heavenly  homesick- 
ness which  have  taken  their  inspiration  from 
the  last  two  chapters  of  Revelation."  Dr. 
Neale's  career  reads  like  a  romance.  His 
championship  of  the  extreme  views  advocated 
in  the  Tractarian  movement  subjected  him  to 
the  crudest  persecution.  Although  his  life 
was  divided  between  stupendous  toil  and  the 
most  abounding  labors  of  piety  and  benevo- 
lence, he  was  under  the  inhibition  of  his  bishop 
for  fourteen  years,  and  was  once  burned  in 
effigy.  His  work  was  of  the  hardest  and  his 
income  a  pittance.  He  wrote  children's  stories 
for  bread,  and  was  manifestly  content  to  serve 
the  Church  he  loved,  though  she  heeded  not 
his  loyalty  and  regarded  with  suspicion  his  sin- 
cere and  enthusiastic  devotion.  Next  to  Dr. 
Neale  stands  Edward  Caswall  (1814-1878), 
who  has  given  us  "  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  l6l 

thee/'  the  unapproachably  fine  translation  of 
Bernard's  famous  "  Jesu  dulcis  memoria,"  and 
"  My  God,  I  love  thee  not  because  I  hope  for 
heaven  thereby,"  the  scarcely  less  famous  hymn 
of  Francis  Xavier.  To  John  Chandler  (1806- 
1876),  whose  service  in  this  line  entitles  him 
to  rank  with  Neale  and  Caswall,  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  hymn  beginning,  "  The  royal 
banner  is  unfurled,"  a  rendering  of  "  one  of  the 
grandest  hymns  in  the  treasury  of  the  Latin 
Church/'  the  Passion  hymn  of  Venantius  For- 
tunatus. 

Contributions  were  also  brought  in  from  the 
German  sources,  the  principal  worker  in  this 
field  being  Catherine  Winkworth  (1829-1878), 
who  rendered  this  service  not  so  much  to  fur- 
nish specimens  of  German  hymn-writing  "as  in 
the  hope,"  as  she  herself  says  "  that  these  utter- 
ances of  Christian  piety,  which  have  comforted 
and  strengthened  the  hearts  of  many  true 
Christians  in  their  native  country,  may  speak 
to  the  hearts  of  some  among  us  to  help  and 
cheer  those  who  must  strive  and  suffer,  and  to 
make    us    feel    afresh   what   a    deep   and    true 

communion  of  saints  exists  among  all  the  chil- 
li 


l62  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

dren  of  God  in  different  Churches  and  lands." 
To  Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
who,  with  her  sister,  published  a  valuable  se- 
lection from  the  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Lu- 
ther, we  owe  the  hymn,  "  My  Jesus,  as  thou 
wilt,"  which  has  already  had  a  wonderful  his- 
tory in  bringing  a  message  of  comfort  to  hearts 
stricken  with  bereavement. 

The  services  to  hymnody  rendered  by  Miss 
Winkworth  and  Miss  Borthwick  naturally  sug- 
gest the  further  contributions  to  the  service  of 
song  made  by  female  writers.  Harriet  Auber 
(i 773-1 862)  was  born  in  London,  and  was  a 
devout  member  of  the  Church  of  England. 
She  had  a  fine  literary  taste,  and  her  render- 
ing of  the  Psalms  ranks  with  the  best  produced 
in  this  century.  Psa.  lxxii  becomes  in  her 
version  the  favorite  missionary  hymn,  "  Has- 
ten, Lord,  the  glorious  time;"  and  Psa.  lxxxi 
the  equally  popular  hymn  of  praise,  "O  God, 
our  strength,  to  thee  our  song." 

Mrs.  Felicia  D.  Hemans  (1794-1835),  in  spite 
of  the  most  discouraging  circumstances,  be- 
came one  of* the  most  popular  poets  of  her  day. 
That  she  undervalued  her  own  work  is  manifest 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.     1 63 

from  her  expressed  regret  "  that  the  necessities 
of  providing  for  a  family  obliged  her  to  waste 
her  mind  upon  mere  desultory  effusions."  Two 
verses  of  the  hymn  by  which  she  is  represented 
in  most  of  our  hymnals,  "  Calm  on  tlje  bosom 
of  thy  God/'  are  inscribed  on  her  tomb  in 
the  church  at  Dublin,  Ireland,  where  she  is 
buried. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Mackay  (born  1 801)  is  a  Scotch 
story-writer  and  poet,  who,  from  the  quiet 
aspect  of  a  Devonshire  cemetery  and  the  con- 
cordant inscription  upon  a  headstone,  "  Sleep- 
ing in  Jesus,"  received  the  suggestion  which 
gave  us  that  cherished  hymn,  "Asleep  in  Jesus, 
blessed  sleep." 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  beautiful  ex- 
pression of  devout  faith  and  child-like  trust 
than  is  found  in  the  hymn,  "  Father,  I  know 
that  all  my  life,"  by  Anna  Laetitia  Waring 
(born  1820),  a  native  of  South  Wales  and  a 
singer  of  unusual  gifts. 

That  hymn,  an  especial  favorite  with  chil- 
dren, "  I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story 
of  old,"  was  written  in  a  stage-coach  by  Mrs. 
Jemima  Luke   (born    1813),   wife   of  an    Inde- 


164  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

pendent  minister  in  England,  while  on  her 
way  to  a  school  festival. 

Elizabeth  Codner  (born  1835),  who  writes, 
"  Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing,"  is  also 
the  wife  of  a  clergyman  living  in  London,  and 
is  favorably  known  for  her  benevolent  activity. 
The  hymn  was  born  out  of  a  heart  anxious  for 
the  salvation  of  some  young  friends  who  had 
been  greatly  impressed  with  the  recital  of 
events  connected  with  the  revival  in  Ireland  in 
i860.  While  quietly  communing  with  herself 
and  longing  to  impress  upon  the  young  people 
an  individual  appeal  "without  effort/'  she  says, 
"  words  seemed  to  be  given  me,  and  they  took 
the  form  of  this  hymn."  Few  hymns  have 
been  more  serviceable  in  evangelistic  work. 

Who  that  ever  heard  Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey  sing 
"The  ninety  and  nine"  will  ever  forget  the 
melting  pathos  and  infinite  tenderness  of  its 
loving  suggestion  ?  The  tune  was  his  own,  and 
came  into  his  mind  during  a  service  at  which 
the  topic  presented  was  "  The  Good  Shepherd/' 
The  hymn  was  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C. 
Clephane  (1 830-1 869),  of  Melrose,  Scotland, 
who  wrote  it  for  a  periodical  edited  by  Dr.  Ar- 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 65 

not,  and  who  passed  into  the  presence  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  a  few  years  before  her  hymn 
was  winged  with  music  for  its  world-wide  flight. 
A  city  pastor  was  called  to  the  bedside  of  a 
young  woman  dying  of  consumption.  School 
associations  had  brought  her  under  the  influ- 
ences of  a  teacher  hostile  to  the  Christian,  and 
indifferent  to  any,  religion.  The  girl  was  high- 
ly cultivated,  and  argued  the  claims  of  religion 
with  the  pastor  as  if  the  contest  were  not  for 
life  and  death,  but  for  dialectical  supremacy. 
His  importunity  at  length  annoyed  her.  She  de- 
clined to  further  discuss  the  topic,  and  upon 
allusion  to  it  would  turn  her  face  to  the  wall. 
Finally,  the  pastor,  addressing  her  by  name,  said 
earnestly  :  "  I  have  not  called  to  argue  with  you 
another  word,  but  before  leaving  you  to  meet 
the  issues  of  eternity  I  wish  to  recite  a  hymn." 
He  then  repeated  with  touching  emphasis  the 
hymn  "  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,"  and 
left  her.  He  thought  it  would  not  be  worth 
while  to  call  again,  but  the  imminence  of  death 
and  peril  of  soul  were  too  great  to  be  de- 
nied any  help  he  might  offer,  and  he  went  to 
her  once  more.     She  turned  to  face  him.     In 


1 66  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

her  sunken  eyes  was  a  gleaming  radiance  and 
upon  her  face  an  ineffable  light.  Placing  her 
wasted  hands  in  his,  she  said,  with  deep  emo- 
tion : 

"  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidd'st  me  come  to  thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  !    I  come  !  " 

"  O,  sir,"  she  said,  u  I've  come,  Fve  come!" 
This  is  but  one  instance  among  hundreds  in 
which  this  hymn  has  made  an  appeal  denied 
to  argument  and  the  logician's  skill,  and 
brought  the  human  soul  and  its  divine  Sa- 
viour into  at-one-ment.  The  writer  of  the  hymn 
was  Charlotte  Elliott  (1789-1871),  a  native  of 
Brighton,  England,  and  blessed  with  an  an- 
cestry famous  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  at- 
tainments. At  twenty-two  she  became,  and 
through  her  long  life  continued,  an  invalid. 
At  thirty-three  she  was  brought  into  a  rich  re- 
ligious experience  through  the  ministry  of  the 
saintly  Caesar  Malan,  of  Switzerland,  and  annu- 
ally kept  the  day  on  which  it  occurred  as  a 
sacred  festival.  Her  now  famous  hymn  ap- 
peared in  1836,  and  was  written  for  the  Inva- 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  167 

lid's  Hymn-Book,  a  work  compiled  by  her,  and 
to  which,  in  its  several  editions,  she  contrib- 
uted over  a  hundred  hymns.  In  the  furnace 
of  much  bodily  pain  and  sorrow  of  heart  were 
her  exquisite  hymns  fashioned.  Years  of  pa- 
tient suffering  went  into  their  making,  and  not 
unlikely  imparted  that  quality  which  makes 
them  a  store-house  of  consolation  for  God's 
chastened  and  chosen  ones.  From  her  pen 
also  came  that  matchless  petition  for  perfect 
loyalty  in  every  dispensation,  "  My  God,  my 
Father,  while  I  stray,"  which  so  pathetically 
hints  of  a  brave  heart  suffering. 

"  Then  when  on  earth  I  breathe  no  more 
The  prayers  oft  mixed  with  tears  before, 
I'll  sing  upon  a  happier  shore 
4  Thy  will  be  done,  thy  will  be  done.'  " 

Of  this  and  the  hymn  "  Just  as  I  am,"  Miss 
Frances  R.  Havergal  says  :  "  There  is  a  beau- 
tiful fitness  in  the  fact  that  these  two  far  thrill- 
ing chords  were  struck  by  the  same  hand. 
For  only  the  heart  that  said  'Just  as  I  am  ' 
can  truly  say  '  Thy  will  be  done/  " 

The  Miss  Havergal  quoted   above  was  her- 
self a  singer  of  verses  as  sweet  and  helpful  as 


l68  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

her  piety  was  deep  and  gracious.  She  was 
born  at  Astley,  Worcestershire,  England,  De- 
cember 14,  1836.  Her  father  was  an  accom- 
plished minister  and  musician,  and  the  daugh- 
ter early  developed  a  passion  for  music  and 
unusual  gifts  of  composition.  Fancying  that 
her  choice  of  the  musician's  vocation  was  a 
self-gratification,  she  even  prayed  that  the  gift 
might  be  withdrawn  if  a  peril  to  her  spiritual 
life.  Her  prayer  was  "  to  be  white  at  any 
cost."  The  gift  was  consecrated  to  divine 
uses,  and  became  a  ministry  of  blessing  to 
multitudes.  Visiting  at  a  friend's  home,  she 
asked  God  for  the  conversion  of  some  uncon- 
verted inmates  and  a  special  blessing  upon  the 
others,  and  the  prayer  was  signally  granted. 
Her  joy  poured  itself  out  in  her  well-known 
and  searching  consecration  hymn,  "  Take  my 
life,  and  let  it  be."  Too  ill  to  attend  church 
on  Sunday,  the  chiming  bells  called  out  from 
her  heart  the  stirring  response,  "  Tell  it  out 
among  the  nations  that  the  Lord  is  King." 
Miss  Havergal  died  in  1879.  Her  ^e  literally 
went  out  in  song. 

A  hymn  which   has   won  wide  and  abiding 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    1 69 

popularity  is  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee,"  the 
metrical  rendering  of  Jacob's  vision  at  Beth-el 
recorded  in  Gen.  xxviii,  11-19.  It  was  writ- 
ten by  Mrs.  Sarah  Flower  Adams  (1805-1849), 
the  gifted  daughter  of  one  of  the  founders  of 
English  journalism,  and  a  member  of  the  con- 
gregation organized  by  the  eloquent  William 
Johnson  Fox,  to  whose  collection  the  hymn 
was  contributed.  In  some  quarters  its  use  has 
been  objected  to  on  the  grounds  that  its 
author  was  a  Unitarian,  and  that  it  contains 
no  reference  to  Christ.  This  objection  might 
with  equal  force  be  urged  against  large  sec- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament.  Allied  "  Chris- 
tian "  emendations  have  been  tried  upon  the 
hymn,  but  have  found  no  acceptance.  If  one 
may  judge  from  poetical  expression  in  a  dra- 
matic composition  (not  an  absolute  test,  it  is 
true),  Mrs.  Adams  was  as  orthodox  as  the 
most  sensitive  could  require.  In  a  lovely 
hymn  from  her    Vivia  Perpetna  she  sings : 

11  Part  in  peace — Christ's  life  was  peace, 

Let  us  live  our  life  in  him  ; 
Part  in  peace — Christ's  death  was  peace, 

Let  us  die  our  death  in  him  ; 


170  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Part  in  peace — Christ  promise  gave 

Of  a  life  beyond  the  grave, 
Where  all  mortal  partings  cease  : 
Brethren,  sisters,  part  in  peace." 

Certain  it  is  that  her  life  was  one  of  beautiful 
ministry,  and  her  death  was  radiant  with  the 
spirit  of  resignation  and  hope. 

Richly  supplementing  the  songs  of  the  sister- 
hood are  the  melodies  of  their  brother  singers. 
The  hymnist  who  of  all  others  in  the  early 
part  of  the  century  ranks  next  to  Montgomery 
in  the  contribution  of  serviceable  hymns  for 
congregational  worship  is  Thomas  Kelly  (1769- 
1855).  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  a  min- 
ister of  the  Established  Church  until  his  fervor 
led  to  differences  with  his  superiors.  Later, 
from  conviction,  he  became  a  dissenter.  He 
was  a  scholar,  poet,  musician,  and  evangelist. 
Having  independent  means,  he  gave  unstint- 
edly to  every  good  cause,  and  after  an  extended 
term  of  blessedly  diligent,  laborious,  and  fruit- 
ful service  he  died  at  a  ripe  age.  Among  his 
best  hymns  are  the  missionary  hymn,  "On 
the  mountain's  top  appearing,"  based  upon 
Isa.  Hi,   7  ;    the   hymn  of  the  Church,  "  Zion 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY   HYMNS.  171 

stands  with  hills  surrounded,"  based  upon  Psa. 
cxxv,  2 ;  and  "  We  sing  the  praise  of  him  who 
died,"  based  upon  Gal.  vi,  14,  a  hymn  of  which 
Sir  Roundell  Palmer  says,  "  I  doubt  whether 
Montgomery  ever  wrote  anything  quite  equal 
to  this." 

Henry  Francis  Lyte  (1793-1847)  was  a 
Church  of  England  clergyman  whose  life  is 
full  of  singularly  noble  and  pathetic  touches. 
After  years  of  arduous  and  loving  service 
among  a  rough,  seafaring  people  on  the  Devon 
coast  he  is  ordered  to  the  Continent  for  a  re- 
spite and  in  the  hope  of  restoring  shattered 
health.  He  goes  and  returns.  The  hope  is 
futile.  Rut  he  must  go  again.  He  insists 
upon  preaching  once  more.  His  hardy  fisher 
people  and  their  little  ones  throng  the  church. 
He  speaks  to  them  of  the  broken  body  and 
shed  blood  of  the  Saviour.  They  listen  breath- 
lessly as  to  a  dying  man.  He  bids  them  fare- 
well and  seeks  his  room.  On  the  evening  of 
the  same  day  he  places  in  the  hands  of  a  friend 
the  words  of  that  peerless  evening  hymn, 
"  Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide,"  and 
soon  after  goes  abroad  to  die. 


172  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Like  Lyte  in  talents  and  devotion  was  Reg- 
inald Heber  (1783-1826),  who,  after  a  brilliant 
university  career,  accepted  the  bishopric  of 
Calcutta,  and  in  three  years  wore  out  his  life 
in  unremitting  toil.  Three  hymns,  all  eminent 
in  their  way,  we  owe  to  him.  His  "  Holy, 
holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,"  is  perhaps 
the  most  perfect  hymn  of  ascription  in  our 
language.  The  pre-eminent  missionary  hymn, 
"  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains,"  was  writ- 
ten in  a  few  hours  to  meet  the  demand  of  his 
father-in-law  for  a  hymn  to  be  sung  at  a  mis- 
sionary service  the  next  day.  "  Brightest  and 
best  of  the  sons  of  the  morning,"  although 
criticised  as  an  "  apostrophe  to  a  star,"  is  nev- 
ertheless one  of  our  best  Christmas  hymns. 

Bernard  Barton  (1784- 1849),  the  "  Quaker 
poet,"  sometimes  restive  under  the  routine  of 
his  duties  as  bank  clerk,  gave  to  the  Church  that 
noble  testimony  to  its  most  convincing  apology, 
"  Walk  in  the  light,  so  shalt  thou  know." 

Henry  Kirke  White  (1785-1806),  the  youth 
of  promise  who  had  Southey  for  his  enthusi- 
astic biographer  and  Lord  Byron  for  his  eulo- 
gist, and  from  whom, 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  73 

M  When  life  was  in  its  spring, 
And  his  young  muse  just  waved  her  joyous  wing, 
The  spoiler  swept  that  soaring  lyre  away 
Which  else  had  sounded  an  immortal  lay," 

gave  us  his  experience  in  passing  from  doubt 
to  assurance  in  the  hymn,  "  When  marshaled 
on  the  nightly  plain." 

James  Edmeston  (1791-1867),  author  of 
"  Saviour,  breathe  an  evening  blessing,"  was  a 
London  architect,  and  this  favorite  hymn  was 
written,  we  are  told,  after  reading  in  Salte's 
Travels  in  Abyssinia  the  words,  "  At  night 
their  short  evening  hymn,  '  Jesus  forgives  us,' 
stole  through  the  camp."  For  years  this  hymn 
was  part  of  the  evening  service  in  the  church 
where  its  author  worshiped. 

The  general  choir  includes  singers  of  almost 
every  station  in  life  and  of  almost  every  degree 
of  culture.  Sir  Robert  Grant  (1785-1838),  the 
accomplished  Governor  of  Bombay,  India, 
contributes  the  touching  litany  cry,  "  Saviour, 
when  in  dust  to  thee,"  and  the  joyous  hymn 
of  gratitude  and  praise,  "  O  worship  the  King 
all  glorious  above." 

Sir  John    Bowring  (1 792-1 872),   the   distin- 


174  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

guished  scholar  and  diplomatist,  writes  that 
triumphant  hymn  of  the  cross,  "  In  the  cross 
of  Christ  I  glory/ '  which  to  some  may  seem 
an  anomaly,  since  its  author  was  a  leader 
among  the  English  Unitarians,  whose  creed 
has  no  place  for  the  cross. 

Sabine  Baring-Gould,  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man of  varied  culture  and  an  industrious  stu- 
dent, contributed  "  Onward,  Christian  sol- 
diers,'1 which  ranks  in  the  very  front  of  our 
few  good  soldier  songs. 

Edward  Mote  (i 797-1836),  a  Baptist  min- 
ister in  England,  wrote  "  My  hope  is  built  on 
nothing  less  "  when  a  layman,  and  the  refrain, 

"  On  Christ,  the  solid  rock,  I  stand, 
All  other  ground  is  sinking  sand," 

flowed  into  his  mind  while  on  his  way  to  busi- 
ness. 

George  Keith,  a  London  bookseller,  is  cred- 
ited (upon  evidence,  however,  which  is  by 
no  means  conclusive)  with  writing  one  of  the 
noblest  lyrics  and  richest  possessions  of  the 
Christian  Church,  the  hymn  "  How  firm  a 
foundation,  ye  saints   of  the  Lord,"   which  is 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  75 

based  upon  the  quartette  of  texts,  1  Pet.  i,4; 
Isa.  xli,  10  ;  xliii,  2  ;  and  xlvi,  4. 

To  Thomas  Moore  (1779-1852),  poet,  mu- 
sician, and  man  of  the  world,  we  are  indebted 
for  the  familiar  "  Come,  ye  disconsolate/'  the 
resounding  song  of  Miriam,  "  Sound  the  loud 
timbrel,''  and  that  sweetest,  tenderest,  and 
most  touching  of  lyrics,  "  O  thou  who  driest 
the  mourner's  tear." 

Hugh  Stowell  (1 799-1 865),  a  churchman  of 
broad  sympathies  and  strongly  evangelical, 
gave  us  "  From  every  stormy  wind  that 
blows,"  than  which  none  is  dearer  to  the  hearts 
of  devout  people. 

Dean  Henry  Alford  (1810-1871),  eminent 
in  scholarship  and  in  service  to  the  universal 
Church  of  Christ,  describes  in  thrilling  lines 
his  vision  of  the  Church  triumphant  in  the 
hymn  "  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand/' 
and  rang  out  the  glorious  call  for  the  Church 
militant,  "  Forward  be  our  watchword,"  writ- 
ten for  an  occasion  which  did  not  take  place 
until  after  its  author  had  passed  away. 

A  hymn  of  the  heavenly  land,  sung  every- 
where, and  an  especial  favorite  with  children, 


1/6  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

''There  is  a  happy  land,"  was  written  by  a 
Scotch  teacher,  Andrew  Young,  who  found 
himself  charmed  by  an  Indian  tune  and  com- 
pelled to  write  a  hymn  for  it. 

The  list  of  American  hymn-writers,  until 
within  a  quite  recent  date,  was  not  large.  But 
now  in  this  country,  as  in  England,  the  inter- 
est in  psalmody  and  the  demand  for  new  col- 
lections are  so  great  as  to  call  out  a  multitude 
of  singers,  many  of  whose  compositions  find  a 
more  or  less  permanent  place  in  the  general 
church  choir. 

Of  the  early  singers  perhaps  the  most  in- 
fluential is  Thomas  Hastings  (1784-1872),  a 
Presbyterian  layman  whose  services  to  church 
music  cannot  be  overestimated.  Of  his  hymns 
perhaps  the  most  popular  are  :  "  Gently,  Lord, 
O  gently  lead  us,"  which  appeared  first  in 
Spiritual  Songs  for  Social  Worship  M  (1832), 
edited  by  Dr.  Hastings  and  Lowell  Mason 
(1792-1872);  the  missionary  hymn,  "  Hail  to 
the  brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morning,,,  based 
upon  Isa.  lii,  7  ;  and  the  funeral  hymn,  "  Jesus, 
while  our  hearts  are  bleeding." 

One  of  the   happy    illustrations   that    in  a 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.     I  77 

hymn-book  denominational  differences  are  dis- 
regarded is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  favorite 
Methodist  hymn  of  consecration,  "  Lord,  I  am 
thine,  entirely  thine,"  was  written  by  an  emi- 
nent Presbyterian  divine,  Samuel  Davies  (1723— 
1 761),  who  succeeded  Jonathan  Edwards  as  pres- 
ident of  Princeton  College.  It  was  manifestly 
written  as  a  communion  hymn,  its  title  being 
"  Self-dedication  at  the  table  of  the  Lord." 

A  hymn  endeared  to  many  by  its  connec- 
tion with  the  most  sacred  hours  of  sorrow  is 
"  I  would  not  live  alway,"  which  was  written 
by  an  Episcopalian  clergyman  and  well-known 
philanthropist,  W.  A.  Muhlenberg  (1 796-1 877). 
The  hymn,  the  authorship  of  which  was  then 
unknown,  was  presented  for  adoption  by  a 
committee  of  which  Dr.  Muhlenberg  was  one, 
and  rejected  as  being  "  good,  but  sentimental." 
Dr.  Muhlenberg  himself  voted  for  its  exclusion. 
Dr.  H.  U.  Onderdonk,  who  had  presented  it, 
secured  its  reconsideration  and  adoption.  In 
after  years  Dr.  Muhlenberg  said  of  this  com- 
position, "  I  do  not  believe  in  the  hymn  at 
all ;    it  does  not   express   the   feelings    of  the 

saint,  and  I  should  not  write  it  now." 
12 


178  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

What  is  probably  the  most  popular  hymn 
of  the  Church,  "  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord," 
was  written  by  a  Congregationalist,  Dr.  Timo- 
thy Dwight  (1752-1847),  the  eminent  theolo- 
gian and  president  of  Yale  College,  whose  life 
is  one  of  the  romances  of  scholarship. 

The  hymn-book  further  illustrates  how  a 
simple  service  may  be  multiplied  and  made 
indefinitely  useful.  There  are  several  singers 
of  just  one  song — that  is,  of  just  one  song 
which  has  commanded  the  general  suffrage  for 
its  incorporation  in  the  standard  collections. 
Such  are  some  of  our  hymns  of  heaven. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Baxter  (1809- 1874),  a  devout 
and  active  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  gave 
us  "  There  is  a  gate  that  stands  ajar,"  which 
has  shown  the  way  into  the  beautiful  city  for  a 
host  which  else  might  have  passed  it  un- 
noted. 

S.  Fillmore  Bennett,  a  physician,  wrote 
"  There's  a  land  that  is  fairer  than  day,"  and, 
it  is  said,  dashed  it  off  in  fifteen  minutes  upon 
hearing  the  remark  from  a  friend  that  things 
"  would  be  all  right  by  and  by." 

So   also   the   favorites,   "  In   the    Christian's 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  HYMNS.    I  79 

home  in  glory,"  by  Samuel  Young  Harmer,  a 
Methodist  minister;  "  My  heavenly  home  is 
bright  and  fair,''  by  William  Hunter  (181 1— 
1877),  also  a  Methodist  minister  ;  "  I  will  sing 
you  a  song  of  that  beautiful  land,"  by  Mrs. 
Helen  Huntington  Gates,  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  author  of  the  song  so 
much  admired  by  President  Lincoln,  begin- 
ning "  If  you  cannot  cross  the  ocean  ;"  and  "  O, 
think  of  the  home  over  there,"  by  D.  W.  C. 
Huntington,  of  Genesee  Conference  in  the 
Methodist  Church  ;  and  "  Safe  in  the  arms  of 
Jesus,"  by  Mrs.  Francis  Jane  (Crosby)  Van 
Alstyne  (born  in  1823),  the  blind  singer,  who 
composed  this  hymn  in  fifteen  minutes  at  the 
request  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Doane,  the  musician, 
who  furnished  her  the  theme.  Mrs.  Van  Al- 
styne, who  writes  as  "  Fanny  Crosby,"  is  the 
ready  writer  of  over  five  thousand  hymns, 
some  of  which  have  become  widely  popular  in 
Sunday-school  and  social  meetings. 

To  this  category  belong  also  some  names 
cherished  for  hymns  of  Christian  experience. 
Such  are  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Payson  Prentiss(i8i8- 
1878),    author  of  the  devotional   classic,    Step- 


l8o  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

ping  Heavenward,  who  has  given  us  the  favor- 
ite prayer-song,  "  More  love  to  thee,  O  Christ/' 
and  Mrs.  Phoebe  Hinsdale  Brown  (1783-1861), 
whose  "  I  love  to  steal  awhile  away  "  was 
written  under  circumstances  of  touching  inter- 
est. She  was  wont  to  seek  the  seclusion  of  a 
grove  near  her  humble  home  that  she  might 
have  an  opportunity  for  religious  meditation 
and  prayer.  Her  visits  there  were  miscon- 
strued by  a  neighbor,  who  roughly  told  Mrs. 
Brown  of  her  suspicions.  "  I  went  home/' 
the  latter  says,  "  and  that  evening  was  left 
alone.  After  my  children  were  all  in  bed  ex- 
cept my  baby  I  sat  down  in  the  kitchen  with 
my  child  in  my  arms,  when  the  grief  of  my 
heart  burst  forth  in  a  flood  of  tears.  I  took 
pen  and  paper  and  gave  vent  to  my  oppressed 
heart  in  what  I  called  '  My  apology  for  my 
twilight  rambles.  Addressed  to  a  lady.'  ' 
When  prepared  for  Nettleton's  Village  Hymns 
the  poem  was  altered  to  its  present  form. 

A  few  native  hymns  have  been  found  worthy 
to  rank  among  the  first  favorites  in  the  uni- 
versal Church.  Such  is  the  hymn  "  My  faith 
looks    up    to  thee,"    written    by  Ray   Palmer 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  I  8  I 

(1808-1887),  a  Congregational  minister  who 
served  successful  pastorates  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  was  for  years  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  American  Congregational 
Union.  This  hymn  was  composed  when  the 
author  was  twenty-two  years  old  and  a  school 
teacher  in  New  York  city.  "  It  was  born  in 
my  heart,"  he  says,  "  and  demanded  expres- 
sion. There  was  not  the  slightest  thought  of 
writing  for  another  eye,  least  of  all  of  writing 
a  hymn  for  Christian  worship.  I  gave  form  to 
what  I  felt  by  writing  the  stanzas  with  little 
effort.  I  recollect  I  wrote  them  with  very 
tender  emotion,  and  penned  the  last  line  with 
tears."  Another  beautiful  hymn  by  this  writer 
is  the  one  beginning,  "  Jesus  these  eyes  have 
never  seen."  It  was  Dr.  Palmer's  favorite, 
and  he  passed  away  with  the  words  of  one 
verse  upon  his  lips  : 

"  When  death  these  mortal  eyes  shall  seal, 

And  still  this  throbbing  heart, 
The  rending  veil  shall  thee  reveal, 

All-glorious  as  thou  art." 

Another  hymn  which  has  had  wide  accept- 
ance is  "  One  sweetly  solemn  thought,"  written 


1 82  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

by  Phoebe  Cary  (i 824-1 871).  The  hymn  ap- 
pears in  two  forms.  The  original  was  written 
in  1852  after  Sunday  morning  service  in  "  the 
little  back  third-story  bedroom  "  of  a  friend's 
house  in  New  York.  The  revised  form,  which 
constitutes  the  basis  of  the  hymnal  versions, 
was  written  by  her  for  a  book  of  Hymns  for 
All  Christians,  compiled  by  herself  and  her 
pastor,  Dr.  Deems.  A  familiar  story  of  its 
blessed  work  is  that  a  young  man,  thought- 
lessly singing  it  in  a  gambling-house  in  China, 
aroused  the  conscience  of  a  fellow-gambler, 
who  subsequently  became  converted. 

A  hymn  which  is  exceedingly  and  deserv- 
edly popular  here,  and  which  will  steadily 
commend  itself  to  an  ever-enlarging  audience, 
is  the  stirring  soldier-song,  "  Stand  up,  stand 
up  for  Jesus."  It  was  written  by  George  Duf- 
field  (1818-1883),  a  prominent  Presbyterian 
minister,  during  the  revival  in  Philadelphia  in 
1857.  Called  to  the  bedside  of  a  dying  fellow- 
worker,  Dr.  Duffield  asked  what  message  he 
should  take  to  the  association  under  whose  aus- 
pices the  revival  was  being  carried  forward. 
44  Tell  them,"  said  the  dying  man,  "  to  stand  up 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY   HYMNS.  183 

for  Jesus."  Dr.  Duffield  preached  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  from  the  words,  "  Stand  therefore, 
having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,"  etc., 
and  read  the  verses  as  a  concluding  exhortation. 

Our  national  hymn,  one  of  the  noblest  and 
most  inspiring  ever  written,  was  composed  in 
1832  by  Samuel  Francis  Smith  (born  1808), 
then  a  theological  student,  afterward  a  Baptist 
pastor  of  repute.  It  was  suggested  by  the  tune 
"  America,"  which  the  author  found  in  a  Ger- 
man music-book  given  to  him  by  Lowell  Ma- 
son. The  same  author  has  given  us  one  of 
our  most  popular  missionary  hymns,  "  The 
morning  light  is  breaking,"  which  was  contrib- 
uted to  the  Psalmist  in  1843. 

There  is  nothing  more  interesting  in  a  re- 
view of  hymnody  than  the  disclosure  that  to 
reach  the  heart  of  humanity  one  must  sing  of 
redemption.  The  singer  may,  or  may  not, 
have  his  affiliations  with  the  evangelical 
Church  ;  but  if  his  song  is  to  live  and  to  pass 
into  the  current  of  men's  thought  it  must  sing 
"  The  praise  of  Him  who  died,"  or  of  the 
hopes  begotten  in  Him  who  died,  "  the  just  for 
the  unjust,  that  he  might   bring  us  to  God/' 


1 84  GOSPEL   SINGERS. 

Thus  our  most  exquisite  Christmas  hymn, 
"Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night,"  which 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  pronounces  "  one  of 
the  finest  and  most  beautiful  hymns  ever  writ- 
ten, "  was  composed  by  E.  H.  Sears  (1810- 
1886),  a  leading  minister  in  the  Unitarian  de- 
nomination. Another  Christmas  hymn,  "It 
came  upon  the  midnight  clear,"  by  the  same 
author,  is  much  and  justly  admired. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  (born  1809)  is  an- 
other "  singer  of  the  liberal  faith  "  who  has 
contributed  a  hymn,  "  O  love  divine,  that 
stooped  to  share, "  which  for  its  pronounced 
and  acceptable  Christian  sentiment  has  been 
incorporated  into  many  denominational  collec- 
tions. There  are  few  nobler  lyrics  of  adora- 
tion than  the  same  writer's  "  Lord  of  all  being, 
throned  afar." 

William  Cullen  Bryant  (1805-1886),  one  of 
America's  greatest  poets,  is  also  classed  with 
the  Unitarians,  which  does  not  prevent  his 
u  Deem  not  that  they  are  blest  alone  "  from 
bringing  its  suggestion  of  comfort  and  conso- 
lation to  men  and  women  who  are  at  the 
farthest   remove  from  him  theologically. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    HYMNS.  185 

There  is  not  in  any  collection  a  more  exqui- 
site and  tenderly  suggestive  hymn  of  Christ's 
love  than  that  given  by  John  Greenleaf  Whit- 
tier  (born  1807)  in  his 

lt  We  may  not  climb  the  heavenly  steeps 
To  bring  the  Lord  Christ  down  ; 

In  vain  we  search  the  lowest  deeps, 
For  him  no  depths  can  drown. 

"  But  warm,  sweet,  tender,  even  yet 

A  present  help  is  he  ; 
And  faith  has  yet  its  Olivet, 

And  love  its  Galilee." 

Thus  it  has  ever  been.  "  From  the  day 
when  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  sang  the  first 
Christian  hymn  to  the  latest  that  has  entered 
our  modern  hymn-books  one  name,  which  is 
above  every  name,  has  made  all  its  music/' 
And  thus  it  will  ever  be. 

"  Christ,  Son  of  God,  and  Christ,  the  Son  of  man, 
Christ  on  the  cross  and  Christ  in  kingly  reign  ! 
So  sang  the  saints  when  first  the  song  began; 
So  shall  it  rise,  a  never-ending  strain." 


NOTES 


1  Dr.  Schaff  says  that  the  number  of  German  hymns 
cannot  fall  short  of  one  hundred  thousand.  Dean  George 
Ludvig  von  Hardenberg,  of  Halberstadt,  in  1786  pre- 
pared a  catalogue  of  first  lines  of  seventy-two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-three  hymns,  and  the  number, 
not  completed  then,  has  been  greatly  increased  since. 

2  Of  these  two  hymns  the  first  was  composed  for  his 
wife's  twenty-ninth  birthday,  October  12,  1755  ;  the 
second  seems  to  have  been  generally  "  for  Christian 
friends,"  and  appeared  in  the  author's  Hymns  and  Sa- 
cred Poems,  1749.  It  was  of  this  latter  hymn  that  the 
saintly  Fletcher  said  :  "  When  the  triumphal  chariot  of 
perfect  love  gloriously  carries  you  to  the  top  of  perfec- 
tion's hill ;  when  you  are  raised  far  above  the  common 
heights  of  the  perfect  ;  when  you  are  almost  translated 
into  glory,  like  Elijah — then  you  may  sing  this  hymn." 

3  Said  to  have  been  composed  during  a  solitary  walk 
in  the  field,  when  the  poet  was  tortured  by  an  apprehen- 
sion of  returning  madness.  It  was  the  last  he  ever  wrote 
for  the  famous  Olney  collection. 

4  Part  of  the  hymn  found  in  the  Olney  collection,  en- 
titled "  Looking  at  the  Cross,"  and  beginning — 

"  In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 

Unawed  by  shame  or  fear, 
Till  a  new  object  struck  my  sight, 

And  stopped  my  wild  career." 


188  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

5  A  selection  from  a  poem  of  ten  stanzas,  entitled 
"  Desiring  Resignation  and  Thankfulness,"  the  first 
stanza  of  which  is — 

"  When  I  survey  life's  varied  scene, 

Amid  the  darkest  hours, 
Sweet  rays  of  comfort  shine  between, 

And  thorns  are  mixed  with  flowers." 

6  From  the  "  Evening  Hymn  "  in  the  Christian  Year, 
The  original  has  fourteen  stanzas,  of  which  the  third, 
seventh,  eighth,  and  last  three  verses  are  usually  given  in 
hymn  collections. 

7  This,  one  of  Wesley's  "  Hymns  for  Children,"  is 
given  entire  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  968,  and  be- 
gins :  "  And  am  I  only  born  to  die  ?  "  Two  stanzas  are 
here  omitted. 

8  The  "  Trisagion  "  is  said  to  have  been  first  intro- 
duced into  the  Liturgy  in  the  reign  of  the  younger  The- 
odosius  (408-450),  but  it  is  probably  much  older.  Tra- 
dition has  it  that  it  was  supernaturally  communicated  to 
the  terror-stricken  population  of  Constantinople  during 
an  earthquake  by  St.  Proclus  (A.  D.  434). 

9  The  "  Gloria  "  consisted  originally  of  the  few  words  in 
Luke  ii,  14,  to  which  subsequent  additions  were  made — 
first  in  the  Greek,  then  in  the  Latin  Church — until  in 
the  fifth  century  it  is  found  substantially  in  its  present 
form. 

10  There  is  a  legend  to  the  effect  that  Ambrose  com- 
posed and  sang  the  "  Te  Deum  "  by  inspiration  when  he 
baptized  Augustine  ;  also,  that  they  sang  it  responsively. 
This  latter  suggestion  has  been  poetically  wrought  out 
by  Mrs.  Margaret  J.  Preston  in  "  The  First  Te  Deum." 
See   her   Colonial  Ballads,    1887.     It  is   generally  be- 


NOTES.  189 

lieved  to  be  a  composite  of  some  Greek  morning  hymns 
and  metrical  renderings  of  scriptural  passages. 

11  The  best  authorities  doubt  the  genuineness  of  this 
hymn,  claiming  that  while  it  is  beautiful  and  interesting, 
it  probably  belongs  to  a  later  age. 

J2See  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  885. 

13  See  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  233. 

14  Dr.  Schaff  calls  this  the  best  of  the  Ambrosian 
hymns,  full  of  faith,  rugged  vigor,  austere  simplicity,  and 
bold  contrasts.  We  subjoin  the  first  and  last  stanzas 
(of  seven)  in  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's  translation  : 

11  O  Thou,  Redeemer  of  our  race  ! 

Come,  show  the  Virgin's  Son  to  earth  ; 
Let  every  age  admire  the  grace  ; 

Worthy  a  God  thy  human  birth  ! 


11  With  light  divine  thy  manner  streams 

That  kindles  darkness  into  day  ; 
Dimmed  by  no  night  henceforth,  its  beams 

Shine  through  all  time  with  changeless  ray." 

Trench  calls  the  translation  by  John  Franck  one  of  the 
choicest  treasures  of  the  German  hymn-book,  and 
Bunsen  says  it  is  "  even  deeper  and  lovelier  than  the 
Latin."     See  Lyra  Germanica,  First  Series,  page  186. 

15  Confessions,  ix,  6,  "  How  greatly  did  I  weep  in  thy 
hymns  and  canticles,  deeply  moved  by  the  voices  of  thy 
sweet-speaking  Church  !  The  voices  flowed  into  mine 
ears,  and  the  truth  was  poured  forth  into  my  heart, 
whence  the  agitation  of  my  piety  overflowed,  and  my 
tears  ran  over,  and  blessed  was  I  therein." 

16  Confessions,  ix,  7. 


I90  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

17  The  original  is  still  in  use  in  the  Roman  Church, 
being  sung  on  Good  Friday,  during  the  procession  in 
which  the  consecrated  host  is  carried  to  the  altar.  This 
hymn  is  selected  as  one  of  "the  seven  great  hymns  of 
the  mediaeval  Church,"  by  the  editor  of  a  work  bearing 
that  name,  and  published  by  A.  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co., 
New  York. 

18  This  famous  hymn  is  said  by  Rev.  John  Ellerton,  the 
translator,  to  be,  with  the  same  author's  "  Crux  ben- 
edicta  nitet,"  the  earliest  instance  of  elegiac  verse  in 
Christian  song.  The  transfusion  of  Ellerton's,  which 
finds  a  place  in  the  hymn  collections,  is  in  a  different 
measure  from  the  original,  which  runs  : 

"  Salve  festa  dies,  toto  venerabilis  asvo, 
Qua  Deus  infernum  vicit,  et  as'ra  tenet, 
Salve  festa  dies,  toto  venerabilis  asvo." 

Throughout  the  poem  the  first  two  lines  of  this  verse 
form  the  third  line  of  the  other  verses  alternately.  The 
festal  day  referred  to  is  Easter. 

19  Besides  Charlemagne  and  Gregory  the  authorship 
has  been  claimed  for  Rabanus,  Archbishop  of  Mayence 
(776-856).  Dryden's  version  in  English  has  been  com- 
mended by  Warton  as  "  a  most  elegant  and  beautiful 
little  morsel,  and  one  of  his  most  correct  compositions." 
It  opens : 

"  Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid 
The  world's  foundations  first  were  laid, 
Come,  visit  every  pious  mind  ; 
Come,  pour  thy  joys  on  human  kind  ; 
From  sin  and  sorrow  set  us  free, 
And  make  thy  temples  worthy  thee." 

20  The  translation  by  Ray  Palmer  is  found  in  the 
Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  284.     Miss  Winkworth  furnishes 


NOTES. 


I9I 


a  translation  of  this  hymn  from  the  German  for  the 
Lyra  Germanzca,  which,  according  to  competent  author- 
ity, is  a  finer  translation  than  any  that  profess  to  be 
from  the  Latin.     We  give  the  second  and  third  stanzas  : 

11  Come,  Father  of  the  poor,  to  earth  ; 
Come,  with  thy  gifts  of  precious  worth  ; 
Come,  Light  of  all  of  mortal  birth  ! 

11  Thou  rich  in  comfort  !     Ever  blest 
The  heart  where  thou  art  constant  guest, 
Who  giv'st  the  heavy  laden  rest." 

21  See  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  1047,  where  it  has  been 
considerably  altered.  Dr.  Neale,  the  translator,  thinks  it 
"extremely  pretty  "  as  a  song,  but  not  intended  for 
church  use. 

22  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  230.  It  is  still  in  use  in  the 
Greek  Church,  and  Neale,  in  his  Hymns  of  the  Eastern 
Church  (page  92),  quotes  a  graphic  account  of  the  cel- 
ebration in  which  it  is  sung. 

23  The  hymns  of  Bernard,  cited  here,  are  all  in  the 
Methodist  Hymnal,  the  second  and  fourth  being  espe- 
cial favorites  with  our  people.  "  Of  him  who  did  salva- 
tion bring  "  was  at  one  time  credited  to  Charles  Wes- 
ley ;  the  matter  and  style  of  the  poem  betraying,  as  was 
thought,  the  Wesleyan  genius.  It  was  discovered  after- 
ward in  a  book  of  translations  by  A.  W.  Boehm  (1673- 
1722),  and  has  since  been  properly  assigned.  "Jesus, 
the  very  thought  of  thee,"  has  been  denominated  "  the 
sweetest  and  most  evangelical  (as  the  "Dies  Irae"  is  the 
grandest,  and  the  "Stabat  Mater"  the  most  pathetic) 
hymn  of  the  Middle  Ages."  Trench,  selecting  fifteen  of 
the  forty-eight  or  fifty  quatrains  for  his  "  Latin  Poetry," 
remarks  :  "  Where  all  was  beautiful,  the  task  of  selecting 
was  a  hard  one." 


I92  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

24  The  late  Rev.  S.  W.  Duffield  essayed  a  translation, 
preserving  the  original  measure,  thus  : 

"  These  are  the  latter  times  ;  these  are  not  better  times ; 

Let  us  stand  waiting; ; 
Lo  !  how,  with  awfulness,  He  first  in  lawfulness, 

Comes  arbitrating-." 

25  Of  the  "Stabat  Mater"  (Dolorosa)  Dr.  Schaff  says: 
"  It  is  the  most  pathetic  .  .  .  hymn  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  occupies  second  rank  in  Latin  hymnology.  Sug- 
gested by  the  incident  related  in  John  xix,  25,  and  the 
prophecy  of  Simeon  (Luke  ii,  35),  it  describes,  with 
overpowering  effect,  the  piercing  agony  of  Mary  at  the 
cross,  and  the  burning  desire  to  be  identified  with  her, 
by  sympathy,  in  the  intensity  of  her  grief.  It  furnished 
the  text  for  the  noblest  musical  compositions  of  Pales- 
trina,  Pergolesi,  Haydn,  and  others.  .  .  .  The  soft,  sad 
melody  of  its  verse  is  untranslatable." 

20  The  "  Stabat  Mater  "  (Speciosa)  was  brought  to  pub- 
lic notice  through  the  researches  of  A.  F.  Ozanam  (1852), 
and  introduced  more  particularly  to  American  readers 
by  Dr.  Philip  Schaff  in  an  article  in  Hours  at  Home, 
May,  1867.  The  question  of  authorship  is  not  settled, 
and  Dr.  Coles  argues  a  twofold  authorship  of  the  hymns 
from  internal  evidence. 

27  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  911.  The  two  martyrs  re- 
ferred to  are  Henry  Voes  and  John  Esch,  whose  mar- 
tyrdom took  place  in  1523.  Alter  the  fires  were  kin- 
dled they  repeated  the  Apostles'  Creed,  sang  the  "  Te 
Deum,"  and  prayed  in  the  flames  :  "Jesus,  thou  Son  of 
David,  have  mercy  upon  us  !  "  The  original  poem  con- 
sists of  twelve  nine-line  stanzas,  and  begins : 
"  Ein  neues  Lied  wir  heben  an." 


NOTES.  I93 

The  tenth  stanza  is  the  basis  of  the  hymn  quoted.  Pro- 
fessor Bayne,  in  his  recent  Life  of  Luther,  speaks  of  it 
as  a  "  ballad — rugged,  indeed,  and  with  little  grace  or 
ornament  of  composition,  but  tingling,  every  line  of  it, 
with  sincerity  and  intensity."  The  meter  is  preserved 
in  the  following  : 

11  With  joy  they  stepped  into  the  flame, 

God's  praises  calmly  singing. 
Strange  pangs  of  rage,  amazement,  shame 

The  sophists'  hearts  are  wringing  : 
For  God  they  feel  is  here." 

28  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  166.  The  imagery  of  the 
hymn  is  derived  from  the  forty-sixth  Psalm.  The  hymn 
has  commonly  been  assigned  to  1529;  but  the  recent 
discovery  of  a  print  dating  apparently  from  February, 
1528,  has  led  Kostlin  to  assign  the  hymn  to  1527,  the 
year  of  the  pestilence,  and  of  Luther's  severest  spiritual 
and  physical  trials.  Dr.  Bayne  says  of  Luther's  hymns  : 
"  It  may  be  said  generally  that  they  are  characterized  by 
a  rugged  but  fundamentally  melodious  rhythm,  a  piercing 
intensity  and  expressiveness,  with  tender,  lovely,  pictur- 
esque touches  here  and  there.  Above  all,  they  are  sin- 
cere. They  seem  to  thrill  with  an  intensity  of  feeling 
beyond  their  power  of  expression,  like  the  glistening 
of  stars  whose  silence  speaks  of  God." 

29  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  569.  The  authorship  of 
this  hymn  was  long  ascribed  to  Altenburg,  a  pastor  in 
Thuringia ;  but  recent  researches,  according  to  Miss 
Winkworth,  have  made  it  clear  that  he  only  composed 
the  chorale,  and  that  the  hymn  itself  was  written  down 
roughly  by  Gustavus  himself,  after  his  victory  at  Leipsic, 
and  reduced  to  regular  verse  by  his  chaplain,  Dr.  Fab- 
ricius,  for  the  use  of  the  army. 

13 


194  GOSPEL    SINGERS. 

so  Zinzendorf  was  a  prolific  writer.  He  is  said  to  have 
composed  about  two  thousand  hymns,  many  of  which 
were  produced  extemporaneously.  The  Brethren  took 
them  down  and  preserved  them.  Zinzendorf  says  of 
them,  in  speaking  of  his  services  at  Berlin  :  "  After  the 
discourse  I  generally  announce  another  hymn  appro- 
priate. When  I  cannot  find  one,  I  compose,  one  ;  I  say, 
in  the  Saviour's  name,  what  comes  into  my  heart." 
Quoted  by  Josiah  Miller. 

31  [Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  152.  The  second  verse  of 
the  hymn,  as  written  by  Sternhold,  was  : 

11  On  cherubs  and  on  cherubims 

Full  royally  he  rode, 
And  on  the  wings  of  all  the  winds 

Came  flying  all  abroad." 

Duftfield  says  it  is  related  of  the  learned  Scaliger — 
whether  father  or  son  is  not  stated — that  he  would  rather 
have  been  the  author  of  this  stanza  than  to  have  written 
his  own  works. 

32  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  11.  This  was  the  first 
British  composition  to  which  the  tune  "  Old  Hundred  " 
was  united,  and,  as  is  seen,  gave  its  own  name  to  the 
tune.  The  authorship  is  contested,  DurTield,  in  his 
English  Hymns,  assigning  it  to  John  Hopkins,  who,  with 
Sternhold,  Kethe,  and  others,  published  a  rendering  of 
the  Psalms. 

33  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  666.  The  first  verse  orig- 
inally stood  : 

11  Shall  Simon  bear  thy  cross  alone, 

And  other  saints  be  free  ? 
Each  saint  of  thine  shall  find  his  own, 

And  there  is  one  for  me." 


NOTES.  195 

34  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  1044.  The  hymn  has  been 
traced  to  the  collection  of  "  Williams  and  Boden  "  (1801), 
where  it  is  credited  to  the  Ec  king  ton  Collection.  Duf- 
field  conjectures  that  as  Rev.  James  Boden,  one  of  the 
editors,  lived  and  died  near  Eckington,  Yorkshire,  this 
may  have  been  his  version  of  "  F.  P.  B.'s  "  hymn.  For  a 
fine  critical  and  historical  sketch  of  this  famous  hymn 
see  W.  C.  Prime's  monograph,  "  O  mother  dear,  Jerusa- 
lem "  (New  York,  third  edition,  1865).  The  Latin  hyrnn 
referred  to  as  given  by  Daniel  (  Thesaurus  Hymnologicus) 
consists  of  forty-eight  lines,  and  begins  : 

Urbs  beata  Ierusalem  dicta  pacis  visio. 

The  "  F.  B.  P."  version,  as  given  by  Dr.  Bonar,  opens  : 

u  Hierusalem,  my  happy  home, 

When  shall  I  come  to  thee  ? 
When  shall  my  sorrows  have  an  end  ? 

Thy  joys  when  shall  I  see  ?  " 

and  contains  twenty-six  stanzas. 

35  It  is  only  proper  to  state  that  the  assignment  of  this 
hymn  to  that  occasion  is  based  upon  a  tradition  which, 
according  to  Dr.  E.  F.  Hatfield,  an  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject, "is  probably  founded  on  the  fact  that  the  hymn  ap- 
pears as  No.  1  of  his  first  book." 

36  Dean  Stanley  says  of  the  same  composition:  "  It  is 
not  only  a  hymn,  but  a  philosophical  poem,  disfigured, 
indeed,  in  parts  by  the  anatomical  allusions  to  the  shrunk 
sinew,  but  filled,  on  the  whole,  with  a  depth  and  pathos 
which  might  well  excite  Watts  to  say  that  '  it  was  worth 
all  the  verses  he  himself  had  written,'  and  induce  Mont- 
gomery to  compare  it  to  the  action  of  a  lyrical  drama." 


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